God Shuffled His Feet: An Alias Buffy crossover
by slincoln
Summary: An ancient evil stalks Agent Sydney Bristow
1. Prologue

God Shuffled His Feet: An Alias/Buffy Crossover  
By: Sam Lincoln

Rating PG-13

Summary: An ancient evil stalks Agent Sydney Bristow

Spoilers: General spoilers for the current seasons of Alias, and Buffy, but nothing specific to any storyline.

Disclaimer: All characters from _Buffy_ and _Angel_ are property of Mutant Enemy. All characters from _Alias_ are property of Bad Robot and Touchstone Television. All characters are used without permission and no infringement is intended.

God Shuffled His Feet: Prologue

-Sri Lanka-  
Agent Sydney Bristow of the CIA cautiously walked down one of the many side streets that chris-crossed the Sri Lankan capital of Colombo. She was in Sri Lanka tracking down an arms dealer who had business ties to Arvin Sloane. IN the weeks following the destruction of the Alliance Sloane had proven to be an elusive target. On several occasions he had successfully slipped through the CIA's nets neven though his capture seemed inevitable. The longer Sloane remained free the more frustrated Sydney became; because Sloane was all that stood in the way of Sydney leaving the CIA and resuming a "normal" life.

"Are you sure al Shareef is here?" Sydney asked into her radio.

"Positive Freelancer," Vaughn replied from the comfort of the CIA Operations Center. "We have both SIGINT and HUMINT confirming al Shareef is in that neighborhood of Colombo."

"Understood," Sydney sighed. She continued down the alley towards the bar her target was known to frequent. It was approaching midnight in Sri Lanka and the dark shadows that lined the alley made Sydney jumpy. Something about this assignment did not feel right to Sydney and she checked to make sure her gun was readily available underneath her tattered disguise.

She turned a corner and promptly stepped into a deep puddle of muck. "Oh gross," Sydney whined. "Boy Scout, when I get home you owe me a new pair of boots and a dinner at the restaurant of my choice."

"It's a date Freelancer," Vaughn replied. Sydney felt that she could hear Vaughn's smile over the radio. Her mood turned serious when she saw the bar she was looking for. "Objective in sight. I'm going in."

"Copy that," this time it was Assistant Director Kendall addressing her. "Freelancer activate your eyes please."

"Roger," Sydney replied as she turned on a small video camera nestled in her hat. "How's the reception?" she asked.

"Freelancer, we're reading you five by five," Kendal answered. "Initiate your sweep of the objective."

"Acknowledge," Sydney squared her shoulders and walked into the bar. She was disguised as an iteinterant worker wearing a tattered and baggy set of overalls and a nondescript baseball cap pulled low over her eyes. The interior of the bar was about what Sydney expected, dark and smokey. She slowly scanned the bar, letting the camera get a good look at the patrons. "She him yet?" she asked Vaughn.

"That's a negative Freelancer, start mingling," Vaughn told her.

Sydney nodded to herself and walked over toe the bar. She ordered a beer then headed for the back of the room. Half a word away technicians were frantically analyzing the take from Sydney's camera. Each face was run through a facial recognition program to see if the person was al Shareef.

"Keep it up Sydney, you're doing great," Vaughn told Sydney.

Sydney took a sip of her beer and saw a large man standing guard in front of a door. "Are you seeing this?" She asked Vaughn.

"We're running a check now," Vaughn replied. A tech handed him a piece of paper. "Ok that's Ahmed Faisel, a former Tamil Tiger, and a current Al Shareef bodyguard." He looked at Kendall "Is this enough?"

Kendal stared at the monitor for a long moment, "It is for me. Send the capture team in and tell Agent Bristow to get the hell out of there."

Vaughn put his headset back on, "Freelancer, be advised, Bravo Team is inbound. Recommend you vacate the objective."

"Copy that," Sydney replied. She casually finished her beer then made her way to the bathroom. Sydney didn't want to arouse any suspicions by leaving right after seeing the bodyguard.

Once inside the cramped bathroom Sydney crawled out a window and dropped onto the street below her. She watched as a large covered truck roared past her and came to a stop in front of the bar. "Bravo team's in position," she told Vaughn.

"Roger Freelancer, the commandos can handle things from here. Your job's done, it's time to come home Sydney."

"You're not going to have to tell me that twice," Sydney said as she watched the commandos storm the bar. She turned and began to retrace her steps as gunfire erupted behind her.

As Sydney approached the corner with the puddle two figures dressed in heavy brown robes suddenly blocked her way. "Uhm, excuse me," Sydney said in an attempt to get the pair to move. Instead of stepping aside both of the figures drew curved daggers and advanced on Sydney. "Uh, Base, I have a bit of a problem."

"We see them Freelancer," Vaughn replied as he stared at the feed from Sydney's camera. "We're working on an alternate route, but for now get the hell out of there!"

"I'm way ahead of you," Sydney told Vaughn as she turned and started to run away from the mysterious pair. She was cut off by two more robed figures that appeared out of the shows. "OK, now it's a little more serious."

"Do the best you can Freelancer, Bravo Team is still engaged and cannot help," Kendall said.

"I copy that," Sydney drew her gun. "All right, let me get by and nobody gets hurt." The four figures did not reply. Instead they continued to advance on Sydney.

Sydney took a deep breath and fired off two rounds. They both hit one of her opponents square in the chest, knocking the person to the ground. The other three ignored their fallen comrade and continued to close in on Sydney. Sydney fired again, taking down another of the cloaked shapes. However, but the time she turned to face the last two they had closed the distance and attacked.

The gun was knocked from Sydney's hands and she was forced to defend herself unarmed. She caught the arm of one of her attackers and flung it into a wall. She used the moment from the throw to give added force to a roundhouse kick she delivered to the other attacker. Sydney followed the kick up with a punch to the head. The force of the blow was enough to knock the hood off of the attacker's head and for the first time Sydney got a good look at who she was fighting.

"Oh my god," Sydney breathed in horror. Unfortunately, in her shock she forgot about the attacker behind her.

"Sydney look out!" She heard Vaughn shout, but she knew that it was already too late.

"No, don't kill her," Sydney heard a familiar voice say. She spun around and saw Khasinau emerge from the shows. "I need her alive, for now."

"But you're dead," Sydney said in disbelief.

"You'd think I would be wouldn't you? But there is no time for explanations, we have a schedule to keep. Bring her." He ordered the minion who promptly knocked Sydney out then slung her over its shoulder.

From the CIA Operations room Vaughn watched in silent rage as the hooded shape walked out of the satellite's field of view. "Damnit!" he swore, "What the hell just happened?"

"What I'd like to know is what was Agent Bristow talking to," Director Kendal noted. "There's nothing from Agent Bristow's camera or any of the satellites."

A somber-faced tech walked up to Kendall and Vaughn, "Uh sir, we were reviewing the feed from Agent Bristow's camera and we found this. It's a clear visual of one of her attackers." He handed Kendall a black and white eight by ten photograph.

"Mother of God," Kendall exclaimed. "What is that?" He handed Vaughn the picture.

Vaughn stared at the image of a human face with horrific scars in place of eyes. "I don't know what sir, but I know who can tell us. I'm going to need to keep this." He turned and walked towards the door.

"Where are you going Agent Vaughn?" Kendall demanded.

Vaughn stopped at the door. "Sunnydale," he replied before walking out of the room.

-To be Continued- 


	2. Chapter 1

God Shuffled His Feet: An Alias/Buffy Crossover  
By: Sam Lincoln

Rating PG-13

Summary: An ancient evil stalks Agent Sydney Bristow

Spoilers: General spoilers for the current seasons of Alias, and Buffy, but nothing specific to any storyline. Also this is a sequel to my earlier story, The Ghosts that Haunt Me. So you should probably go read that first.

Disclaimer: All characters from _Buffy_ and _Angel_ are property of Mutant Enemy. All characters from _Alias_ are property of Bad Robot and Touchstone Television. All characters are used without permission and no infringement is intended.

God Shuffled His Feet: Chapter One

-Sunnydale-

"Alright girls, listen up, I've got your patrolling schedules for next week...uh, girls?" Xander told the collection of potential Slayers sitting in the Summers' living room. "Great," Xander muttered. "My one chance to be a cool desk sergeant like on Hill Street Blues and my 'cops' won't listen to me."

"Hill Street Blues?" Buffy asked in bemusement.

"I was feeling old school," Xander glanced at the collection of teenaged girls, "Well old at any rate." Xander glanced over at Buffy. "Help?"

"Quiet people!" Buffy snapped. The room fell silent. Buffy held out her arms. "They're all yours," she told Xander.

"Okay, now that I've once again been emasculated beyond all reasonable measure let's get started." Xander held up a clipboard. "I've got your partner and patrol assignments right here. Willow and Anya have your equipment. Don't forget periodic radio checks and if you find anything call for backup. Let's be careful out there people, dismissed." Xander dropped the clipboard on the coffee table and the potentials filed past looking for their names.

"That was very Hill Street Blues Xander," Buffy told her friend after all the Potentials had left. She was getting ready for her own patrol when they heard someone knocking on the door. "Could you see who that is Will?" Buffy asked as she checked the balance of a stake.

"Sure thing," Willow replied. She stood p and walked over to the front door. "Oh it's you..." they heard Willow say. "Yeah, I'll get her." Will re-entered the living room. "Uh Buffy, there's someone here to see you."

"Who is it?" Buffy asked.

Just then Agent Vaughn walked up behind Willow, "It's just me Ms. Summers."

"Agent Vaughn, what are you doing here?"

"I need your help...Sydney needs your help," Vaughn said.

"What happened?"

"Sydney was on assignment in Sri Lanka when she was attacked and captured by four assailants."

Buffy frowned, "That's horrible, but why do you need my help with the spy stuff?"

"Because of this picture," Vaughn handed Buffy the eight by ten. "It was taken by a camera Sydney was wearing. I thought it was something right up your alley. So do you know who did this?"

Buffy looked up from the picture. "Yes. It's a Bringer, a minion of the First."

"First? The First what?" Vaughn asked in confusion.

"Evil, the First is evil personified."

"But why would evil personified want Sydney?"

"I don't know, but I intend to find out. Xander, call Giles, get him back here. I'll need the two of you and Spike to keep an eye on the Potentials and the Hellmouth while I'm gone."

"Where are you going?" Xander asked.

"Sri Lanka," Buffy replied. "The First wanted Sydney for some reason and whatever the First wants I want to keep the First from having. Hey Will, want to come with?"

"Sure, I've never been to Sri Lanka," Willow replied.

Buffy looked at Vaughn, "When do we go?" she asked.

-Sri Lanka-

Sydney slowly regained consciousness as rays of sunlight hit her face. She sat up and took stock of her situation. She was sitting on a threadbare cot in a stone-walled cell. The room had just one door and a single, iron-barred window. She stood up and looked out the window to get her bearings. All she could see was jungle, and not a hint of civilization anywhere.

Suddenly the cell door opened and a cloaked figure entered the cell. "Who the hell are you?" Sydney demanded. "And why are you holding me?"

"Why Sydney, such harsh words. I thought you'd be happy to see me," the figure said in a voice Sydney thought she would never hear again.

"No, it can't be..." Sydney stammered. The figure threw back his hood. "Danny?" Sydney asked in stunned disbelief. "But you're dead. I saw your body." She stood there, her feet rooted to the ground. Part of her wanted to rush into his arms, but another part was screaming that something was deadly wrong.

"Well I could tell you that looks are deceiving, but no, I am dead," Danny replied. "And you killed me. So now it's my turn." An evil smile crept across the specter of her fiance's face. The cell door clanged opened again and a pair of mutilated guards entered the room. "Take her downstairs," Danny ordered the guards. "We have a lot of catching up to do."

-Los Angeles-

Vaughn lead Buffy and Willow into the CIA Operations Center. "Wow," Willow said, "This place is really...ornate."

"Yeah," Buffy agreed, "I would've thought it would be darker and less...train stationy."

"Agent Vaughn!" A voice boomed from across the room.

Vaughn turned to face the balding man approaching the trio. "Yes sir?" he asked.

"Agent Vaughn what in hell are you doing bringing two civilians into this room? I thought I was clear, a secure meeting room only."

"Assistant Director Kendall, I'd like you to meet Buffy Summers and Willow Rosenberg. Buffy, Willow, this is my boss, Assistant Director Kendall," Vaughn said, ignoring Kendall's outrage.

"Nice to meet you," Buffy told Kendall. "If you want Willow and I can go home."

"No, that won't be necessary Ms. Summers. I'm sorry, my nerves are a little frayed. My counterpart over at the NSA says you can be trusted. We're just waiting on one other person and we can begin."

"I'm sorry I'm late," Jack Bristow said. "I was briefing Derevko on Sydney's status." Kendall glared at Jack. "Irina Derevko is many things, but she is Sydney's mother and Sydney would want her to know."

"Fine, what's done is don. Come on, we're in Conference Room A." Kendall lead the group into a smaller room with a large table dominating the center of the space. Already seated at the table was a man about Vaughn's age with a wild shock of brown hair.

"Ms. Summers, Ms. Rosenberg, this is Marshall Flinkman, one of our technical experts. Marshall, these young women are Buffy Summers and Willow Rosenberg; they're experts on the organization that's holding Agent Bristow."

"Nice to meet you," Marshall told Willow, "And it's good to see you again, though we weren't formally introduced last time."

"You're saying we've met before?" Buffy asked. "I don't think so. I would've remembered that."

"Well, you were unconscious at the time," Marshall explained. "I used to work for SD-6, but when the CIA took down the Alliance I started working here."

"So you were one of the people who tortured me?" Buffy asked, anger flashing in her eyes.

Marshall took a step back, "Torture? No, no torture. I just designed your holding cell." Marshall saw the look of rage on Buffy's face. "I...I'm sorry?"

Buffy stared at Marshall, then punched him in the face. Knocking him to the ground. "Apology accepted," she said sweetly, then sat down at the table.

"Are we done with the vendettas?" Kendall asked.

Buffy nodded, "Yep, unless you have that creep Sloane locked up around here. I'd love to do more than give him a little tap."

"As much as I would like to grant that request no, Sloane's evaded capture," Vaughn explained. "That's what Sydney was doing in Sri Lanka."

"If I may, I'm still a little unclear as to who it is who's responsible for this," Jack interjected. "The First, what exactly is that?"

"Just what it sounds like," Buffy replied. "The source of all evil in the world."

"That seems a little hard to believe," Jack protested.

"Believe me, I've talked to it enough times to know it exists."

"Ok, so let's say that evil does exist in some personified form. How do we fight it?"

"You can't," Willow said. "Not directly at least. The First is incorporeal and can't be hurt. Nor can it hurt anyone...physically."

"But will talk your damn ear off," Buffy added. "Plus it can take the form of anyone who is dead."

Jack considered what Buffy said, "So it attacks you psychologically, saps your will to fight then has its followers finish the job?"

Buffy nodded, "The First is harmless if you don't listen to it."

"Easier said than done," Willow muttered under her breath.

"So why does the personification of evil want one of my agents?" Kendall wondered aloud, unknowingly echoing Vaughn's earlier question.

"There is one thing," Willow admitted, "The First is trying to eradicate the Slayer. Maybe Sydney is a potential?"

Buffy shook her head, "I doubt it Will. She's too old to be a potential Slayer."

"I know that, but maybe Sydney was a potential Slayer, and she never got called, but maybe she can still pass the Slayer potential along," Willow persisted.

"Wait, back up," Vaughn said. "You're saying Sydney could be a Slayer like you Buffy?"

"No," Buffy said with a shake of her head. "It's possible she could have been, but there's no way she could become a Slayer now. Besides, the First has potential Slayers killed on the spot, not captured."

"Does the reason matter?" Jack asked. "We know who has Sydney, and we need to get her back. Nothing else is relevant."

Kendall nodded, "Agreed. Agent Bristow, have you assembled your team?"

"You're looking at it," Jack replied. "Agent Vaughn and I talked this over earlier sir and we both feel that a small team has a better chance of success," Jack paused. "Agent Vaughn also felt very strongly about the inclusion of Ms. Summers and Ms. Rosenberg."

"If you think I'm going to authorize the use of civilians on this mission..." Kendall spluttered.

"With all do respect sir..." Vaughn began to protest.

Kendal held up a hand, "Save it Agent. I've read the reports: 'they can handle themselves in a fight,' 'they're not really civilians,' 'we're not equipped to handle this threat.' Have I missed any?"

"They didn't rat Sydney out," Vaughn added.

"Uhm, ok, question," Buffy interjected. "I know I'm all for helping out Sydney, but why not have the Initiative and Faith find Sydney?"

"Politics," Jack replied before Kendall could answer. "The Initiative is a Department of Defense project. The CIA is not part of DoD so when an agent goes missing we usually try to handle things in house. That and this Faith is currently deep in Africa on assignment."

"Oh, that'd explain that," Buffy said, mollified. "Now about Willow and I going to find Sydney. She helped get me out of SD-6 and saved my life. If you think I'm going to leave her to the First then you're nuts."

"Hold on Ms. Summers. I can't authorize it because I don't have the authority. That has to come from the top. We don't normally let civilians, no matter how qualified take part in our operations."

Jack slid a piece of paper over to Kendall. "I took the liberty of explaining the situation to the Director already. He agrees with me that we need to use these two ladies to retrieve Sydney."

Kendall looked down at the piece of paper and smiled. "Don't get between you and your little girl eh Jack?"

Jack coldly stared at Kendall, "Precisely."

Kendall nodded, "Fair enough. Ok Marshall, show us what you've got."

"Well, we don't have much. The capture, which you've all seen and after that they just went poof."

"So we have no leads?" Vaughn asked.

"I didn't say that. We've been keeping a very close eye on Sri Lanka, or Ceylon as it used to be known. Anyway an infrared satellite picked this up." Marshall pushed a button and a grainy image appeared on a television screen.

"What s it?" Buffy asked.

"A heat bloom," Marshall replied. "The satellite used to be used to track Soviet naval ships, but it's proven pretty handy tracking down terrorist in remote locations. This one was pretty hard to get what with it being in a jungle, but we managed. Anyway, if we take a map of the region and overlay this bloom we get this." Marshall adjusted a few controls and a map appeared on the screen. "It overlaps the location of an ancient Hindu temple to Shiva, the destroyer."

"If I was evil incarnate that sounds like a place I'd visit," Buffy quipped.

"Alright people, get your gear and get to that temple," Kendall ordered.

"Ah, so my noble opposition is gathering its forces, how inspiring," a cheerful voice said from behind them. They turned and saw a middle-aged man with orange-red hair and an open, friendly face standing there. "I so did love team-building exercises."

"Who are you?" Kendall demanded.

"Oh how unspeakably rude of me, but come on Director Kendall, you're a smart man, figure it out for yourself."

"It's the First," Jack said, his voice a tight ball of rage.

"You're a bright one," the First said, "I can see the apple didn't fall from the tree in your family's case. You have a remarkable daughter Mr. Bristow, you should be proud."

"You know, I never liked you when you were alive," Buffy commented. "And I like you even less as the First's face."

"Besides, we blew Mayor Wilkins up, so you're not that scary," Willow added.

"Oh really, not that scary? Fair enough, as a politician you have to be palatable to your constituents...at least until they become palatable to you." He chuckled slightly at his joke. "Maybe you should explain things to your new friends," he told Buffy. "They don't seem to get the joke."

Buffy grimaced, but did as the First asked. "Laughing boy here tried to eat the town in an attempt to become a demon; we blew his ass up for his troubles."

"Sad but true, on the other hand it was nice to see the people of Sunnydale rallying behind a common cause."

"Get to the point already," Buffy demanded.

"The point? Quite simple really. I have someone you want, and you're not getting her back."

"You son of a bitch!" Vaughn fumed. "If you do anything to hurt her..." 

The First turned and faced Vaughn, "You'll do what..." Suddenly the First's form shifted to a completely different one that Buffy did not recognize, "Son?"

Vaughn took a step back, "Dad?" he managed to splutter.

"That's not your father Vaughn," Jack said, "Your father is dead."

"You would know that wouldn't you Jack, after all, it was your wife that killed me."

Buffy stepped between the First and the rest of the group. "It's long past time for you to leave," she growled.

The First sighed dramatically, "Very well, but I'll be seeing you all again soon." The First vanished in a flash of light.

Buffy faced the others, "That was the First, any questions?"

-Sri Lanka-

Sydney lay strapped to a table in the middle of a large chamber. Her body was bruised and cut; various torture devices sat on a surgical table next to her. A group of disfigured minions ringed Sydney and chanted in a language she did not recognize. All through her torture session they had stood there, chanting. The pain that had wracked her body receded slightly and Sydney took the opportunity to test the leather straps that held her down.

"It won't do you any good to struggle Sydney," Danny's voice said.

Sydney looked up and saw her supposedly dead fiancŽe standing over her. "Danny, why are you doing this? I loved you."

Danny laughed, it was not at all like the laugh Sydney remembered. "You loved me, that's rich. You lied to me for as long as I knew you, and your lies put a bullet in my brain."

"That's not fair. I was lied to as well. If I had known was SD-6 truly was I never would have joined."

"Don't give me that, you would have joined, it's who you are Sydney, it's in your blood. Just look at your parents." Danny looked at one of the servants. "Take her back to her cell. We don't want to wear out our sacrifice before her big night."

Sydney waited patiently for the servant to finish untying her before she lashed out and knocked it to the ground. Sydney marshaled all of her strength and sprinted for the door.

"Catch her!" Danny roared at the hooded minions standing there.

Sydney burst out of the chamber and found herself in a dark stone hallway. She quickly glanced up and down the hall in an attempt to figure out which way the exit lay. The sound of her pursuers convinced her that direction was not as important as motion and she ran down the right hand side of the hall.

Suddenly Danny appeared in front of her. Despite her shock Sydney didn't slow down and ran right through him. "Going somewhere?" Danny asked as Sydney tripped over a loose piece of stone and fell to the ground.

"You're...you're not Danny," Sydney insisted. "Danny loved me and would never hurt me." She grimaced, she sprained her ankle in the fall, and the pain was intense.

"Yes I loved you, but that was before you betrayed me. I'm lying in the ground molding away and you're gallivanting across the world with your new boy toy."

"There's no way the real Danny would say that. He'd want me to be happy, to get on with my life."

"That's just a lie the living tell themselves to assuage their guilt. Can you imagine the pain of seeing the person you love and know that you can never touch them again?" To emphasis his point Danny passed his hand through Sydney's face.

By that time the guards had caught up to Sydney. She stood in an attempt to fight them off, but the pain from her ankle and other assorted injuries was too great and she fell to the ground.

"Take her back to her cell," Danny said in disgust. "We want to make sure she's well rested for tomorrow when we get to do this all over again."

Buffy, Jack, Vaughn and Willow sat in silence aboard an Air Force Gulfstream as it flew over Africa on its way to Colombo. As Buffy drummed her fingers on the armrest of her chair she noticed that she seemed to be the only member of the party bored by the flight. Willow was staring out the window in rapt attention as the earth spread out below them. Agent Vaughn was sleeping and Agent Bristow, Sydney's father, was reading a report of some sort. He obviously was used to long flights. Buffy tried, once again, to take a nap, but found that sleep eluded her. She sighed in frustration and stood up to run through a few training exercises.

"Would you mind not doing that?" Jack Bristow murmured. "Once we're on the ground sleep is going to be hard to come by."

"Buffy sat down in her chair, "I know, but I'm not a person who handles long periods of boredom well. If it wasn't for the daily threat of the apocalypse I would've gone crazy in high school...actually I almost did go crazy in high school, but that's a different story."

Jack stared at Buffy. "You've lead an interesting life haven't you."

Buffy shrugged, "No more than anyone else, I mean if you look past the vampires, demons, werewolves, witches, and other assorted creepy crawlers. But hey Sydney was probably running around with little kids versions of James Bond gadgets, so who's to say what's interesting?"

"Sydney first learned of my work with the CIA last year. For a variety of reasons it was the most expedient way to deal with the situation. Personally if I had any say in the matter Sydney would never have become a spy. Danny would still be alive and he and Sydney would have started a family by now. Sydney would be happy and would still believe her mother had died in a car accident."

"But at least now she has her mother," Buffy pointed out. "Not everyone can get that second chance."

Jack shook his head, "Irina Derevko is not the woman Sydney knew as her mother...you did not hear that name," he cautioned Buffy.

"Right, just like I didn't hear that name back in LA when you were defending yourself to Kendall."

"Yes, well, I stand by what I said. Sydney would want her to know." Jack looked down at his hands. "It seems Sydney believes in second chances."

"We're going to get her back Mr. Bristow," Buffy insisted.

"I hope you're right Ms. Summers. I don't think I could forgive myself if we didn't."

-Sunnydale-

Will Tippin checked the address he had written down against the one on the house in front of him. Will was not even entirely sure why he was there. When Sydney had not come home he had tried to call Vaughn. 

Vaughn had proven to be his usual inscrutable self. "Sorry Will, I can't tell you much. Why don't you go talk to your friend in Sunnydale. I'm sure he's got some amusing stories that a journalist like yourself can put to good use." Vaughn has then given Will and address then hung up.

Will stared at the house. He didn't know the full story behind Sydney's last visit; just that it ended with him being punched out and getting a massive hangover. Will sighed, he knew Sydney was in trouble and Vaughn thought he could help Sydney by coming here. Will got out of his car and walked up to the front door. He range the doorbell and waited for someone to answer the door.

After a short wait the door opened to reveal an attractive blonde. "Can I help you?" she asked in a terse voice.

"Oh hi, my name's Will Tippin. I'm a friend of Xander's is he here?"

"Will? Xander doesn't know anyone named Will. Except for Willow who sometimes gets called Will, and Spike who's real name is William, but other than that no Will. Nice try hellspawn." The woman started to shut the door in Will's face.

Will shoved himself into the door frame. He winced slightly as the door hit him in a sensitive area. "Look could you please tell Xander that I'm here, my name is Will Tippin."

"Anya, is something the matter?" a male voice with a proper British accent asked from another room.

"No problem, just a pushy demon trying to eat Xander," Anya replied.

"A what?" the man with the British accent asked as he walked into sight. "Hold on, I know you," he told Will. "You were in LA during the Rambaldus unpleasantness. Anya let the poor man in the house, he's not a demon," the man ordered Anya.

"If you insist Giles," Anya said. She swung the door open and Will stumbled into the house.

"You'll have to forgive Anya. We're all a little jumpy right now. Hello, my name is Rupert Giles." He held out his hand to Will.

Will glanced at Anya who still looked ready to slow roast him over a fire. "Will Tippin," he replied. "Where's Xander?"

"At the lumber yard getting supplies. I must say Mr. Tippin you've arrived at a singularly poor time."

"It can't be helped. A man named Vaughn said I should come here."

Giles arched his eyebrows, "Indeed, and why did Mr. Vaughn send you to Sunnydale?"

"He said you could tell me what's happened to Sydney."

"Oh yes, that we can do. Why don't you come into the living room and have a seat. This could take a while."

-Colombo-

Jack lead Buffy Willow and Vaughn through the crowded streets of Colombo. Willow looked around the busy market in wonder. "This is so cool, I be we could find some amazing herbs."

"Ms. Rosenberg, may I remind you that we're here to rescue Sydney, not to indulge your desire to find a better high," Jack snapped.

"I wasn't talking about drugs. I was talking about herbs with magical properties that we could use in spells," Willow shot back.

"It would also be a good place to find out more about this temple we're looking for," Buffy pointed out.

Jack stared at Vaughn who shrugged. "Alright let's find a...magic shop." He finished his sentence in a strangled voice. "You wouldn't happen to know where to start looking?"

"Maybe that guy does," Buffy said, pointing to an elderly Indian man standing in front of a small crowd of onlookers.

"Oh cool, a fakir, I've always wanted to see one in person," Willow said before running over to the man.

"A what now?" Buffy asked Vaughn.

"A fakir," Jack said, cutting off Vaughn, "Roughly translated a street magician. There's a purported mystical element, but fakirs are just that, fakers."

"Cool," Buffy replied, "Sounds like the kind of person we're looking for." She caught up with Willow just in time to see the fakir lie down on abed of nails.

"There's actually no magic involved," Willow explained. "It's just good old-fashioned physics. See the nails are so close together that even though they're individually quite sharp your weight gets evenly distributed across all of them. So no one nail has enough pressure being applied to it to break the skin. Pretty cool huh?"

"Yeah, cool," Buffy said distractedly. Throughout Willow's explanation the fakir had been staring straight at the pair.

"Say pretty lady, would you mind helping me demonstrate my control over my body?" the fakir asked Buffy in heavily accented English.

Buffy shrugged, "Sure, why not." She figured it would be the perfect opportunity to ask about a magic shop.

"Well step closer so I may instruct you," the fakir ordered. "Now what I want you to do is take that board, cinder block, and sledgehammer..."

"But you'll get impaled!" Buffy protested. She could see where the fakir was going.

"Don't worry, it's all part of the illusion. The board softens the blow, I won't feel a thing." He reached out and patted Buffy's arm. "On second thought, you'd better hold back Ms. Summers."

"How did you know my name?" Buffy warily asked the fakir.

"Not every fakir is a fake; I have been gifted with a touch of second sight, and the vampire slayer has so much power she is easy to spot. Now let us do this trick and then we can discuss what brings the Chosen One to Colombo."

The fakir returned to his bed of nails and motioned for Buffy to place the wooden board and cinder block on his chest. "Just remember my dear that I am not a vampire," the fakir said with a smile.

Buffy took a deep breath and swung the hammer as softly as she could. The cinder block shattered from the force of the strike but the fakir quickly stood up and showed off his unmarked back. The crowd applauded and tossed money at the fakir.

As the crowd dispersed the fakir looked at the four Americans. "Follow me, the streets of Colombo are not safe and we have much to talk about." He saw the looks of doubt on the CIA agent's faces. "Unless of course you want to let the First win," he added.

-to be continued- 


	3. Chapter 2

God Shuffled His Feet: An Alias/Buffy Crossover  
By: Sam Lincoln

Rating PG-13

Summary: An ancient evil stalks Agent Sydney Bristow

Spoilers: General spoilers for the current seasons of Alias, and Buffy, but nothing specific to any storyline. 

Disclaimer: All characters from _Buffy_ and _Angel_ are property of Mutant Enemy. All characters from _Alias_ are property of Bad Robot and Touchstone Television. All characters are used without permission and no infringement is intended.

God Shuffled His Feet: Chapter Two

-Sunnydale-

"So you're saying the root of all evil has captured Sydney?" Will asked in disbelief.

"That's precisely what's happened. Why is everyone having such a hard time accepting that fact?" Anya wondered aloud.

"Well, on its face it is a ridiculous thing to claim," Giles admitted. They were seating around the dining room table. Books were piled high around them and Will had a cup of tea cooling in his hands.

"What can I do to help?" Will asked.

"Honestly Mr. Tippin there is not much you can do. There are already people en route to Sri Lanka to attempt a rescue. We were going to do some research on the location they think Ms. Bristow to possibly figure out why she was abducted."

"Research? I'm a reporter, research is what I do."

"You have no idea how refreshing it is to hear someone say that," Giles commented. "By any chance you wouldn't happen to be fluent in ancient Hindi?"

"Uh no, I'm afraid not, I slept through that class in college," Will replied.

"A pity, very well. Here you go," Giles handed Will a pair of books.

"What's this?" Will asked.

"One is a transcription taken during the British Raj of an ancient Hindi text. The other is a Hindi to English dictionary."

Will stared at the think books in disbelief. "Don't worry," Anya told him cheerfully. "Usually something bad comes along that makes you wish you just had to read all these old musty books."

"Giles!" Xander shouted as he ran into the house. "We've got a big problem."

"See, like that," Anya said, satisfied with herself.

-Colombo-

The four Americans had followed the fakir to a small storefront. For the entire trip Jack and Vaughn kept their pistols close by in case the old man lead them into an ambush. 

The fakir turned and faced the group. "This is my nephew Janek's store. I maintain rooms in the upper story. Come, we can talk there."

The store was jammed full of a cornucopia of herbs, potions, vials, and other mystical artifacts. "Wow, does your nephew take credit cards?" Willow asked.

The fakir chuckled, "No, but I'm sure your American dollars will go a long way."

They followed the fakir up a flight of stairs and into a small, but neat, apartment. "Please, make yourselves at home. I will go make some tea." The fakir hurried into the kitchen.

"That won't be necessary," Vaughn said, but the fakir was already out of sight. "Does anyone else find this guy a little strange?" he asked the others.

Buffy shrugged, "He said he has second sight, that tends to make people a little nutty."

"Besides, he seems like a nice enough guy," Willow said.

"In my experience anything that seems to be one thing is usually the opposite," Jack said sternly.

"You would do well to listen to your elders Willow Rosenberg," the fakir said as he walked back into the sitting room. "They must be doing something right if they are still drawing breath. The kettle is heating now," he added.

"How?how did you know my name?" Willow asked.

"My dear girl, everyone who can sense the Power knows the name of the witch who nearly destroyed the world last spring."

"Oh, uh, sorry about that."

The fakir laughed, "What is important is that you did not succeed. As it is, what is that expression of yours? No harm no foul." The fakir saw Willow's downcast expression. "Forgive me, I am an old man, prone to speaking out of turn." The tea kettle in the kitchen began to shriek. "Ah, the tea, pardon me. I shall be right back." The fakir bustled into the kitchen and returned with a tray loaded down with a tea pot, cups, and other assorted tea drinking accessories.

"You really didn't have to do this," Vaughn said.

"Nonsense, all sensible discussions must be held over tea. Now, Mr. Bristow, what would you like?"

"Earl Gray please," Jack replied. He did not bat an eyelash at the fakir's mention of his name. He took the cup from the fakir and let the tea steep for a while. "Thank-you very much for your hospitality, but our time is short and you mentioned something about the First?"

The fakir leaned back in his chair. "Yes, the First Evil, very bad. I felt its presence enter the city several days ago."

"Is it still here?" Willow anxiously asked.

"Eh? No," the fakir sipped his tea. "No it is no longer in the city, still in Sri Lanka perhaps, but not in Colombo."

"We believe the First is located here," Jack produced a satellite photo of the temple. "Are you familiar with this place?"

"Yes, very familiar, this is a bad place with a dark and evil history. Human sacrifice was performed there. Some even say the temple foundation was consecrated with the blood of infants."

"Ok, major ewww," Buffy observed.

"Agreed, the temple is a treacherous place. It's said that all who enter are forever marked by its evil."

"Are we done listening to ghost stories?" Vaughn angrily asked. "We know where she is, let's go and get her out of there!" He stood up to emphasis his point.

"Please Mr. Vaughn, sit down," the fakir said. "Charging in recklessly will only result in your death. Do not worry, there is still time."

"What I would like to know is how you know so much about us," Jack asked over the top of his teacup.

"An excellent question Mr. Bristow. See, this is why I said listen to your elders. As I told Ms. Summers, I have the gift of second sight. I can se things that most cannot and in this case I know something of your quest. I cannot see everything, but based on what I have seen I can tell you need my help."

"And how do we know you're not the First trying to trick us?" Vaughn demanded.

"Relax Vaughn, the First couldn't have pulled that bed of nails stunt. Besides, he touched me," Buffy said.

Jack frowned, he could tell there was something the old man was not telling them, but he couldn't put his finger on it. "Two questions, why do we need your help? We know where to look, we have supplies and maps. What else could we need?"

"The temple sits in the middle of a living jungle; you could reach the temple without a guide, but it would take time, more time than I think you are willing to spend."

"What about a helicopter? According to our reconnaissance there's enough room to land next to the temple," Vaughn protested.

"Choppers are out," Jack said. "We have no way of knowing how large an opposing force there is in there and a helicopter would only serve to announce our arrival. I had hoped there would be utility roads leading into the area that we could use. How far of a walk is it?"

"Several days, assuming the weather holds," the fakir replied.

Jack nodded, "Then that brings me to my second question. What's your name?"

The fakir laughed, "Oh how silly of me, sometimes I get what has been and what will be mixed up. My name is Sohil Gupta. I am pleased to make your acquaintance." Gupta bowed his head slightly.

"The pleasure is all ours Mr. Gupta," Jack replied. "Now how soon can you be ready to go?"

"I can go now Mr. Bristow, I travel lightly."

Jack nodded, "Good, we can go to the airport, collect our gear then drive out to the trailhead before night falls. We will of course provide compensation for your time."

"While not necessary that would be most welcome," Gupta set down his teacup. "Shall we?" They stood and walked to the door. Gupta paused to collect a small rucksack and walking stick.

"Alright, off we go to the Temple of Doom," Willow commented.

"Yeah, that's what this reminds me of," Buffy said. "I'm Indy, you're Short-Round, Vaughn's Kate Capshaw...Agent Bristow, do we have time to find a fedora and a bullwhip?" she asked.

"This is hardly the time for jokes," Vaughn snapped as he pushed past the Sunnydale pair and walked out of the apartment.

"Geez, what's up with him?" Willow asked Buffy as they left the apartment. 

Buffy frowned, "I don't know, probably just stress." She stared at Vaughn's back. "Still, it wouldn't hurt to keep an eye on him, just to be safe."

-Sunnydale-

"Okay Xander, one more time, tell me exactly what you saw," Giles told Xander. The four adults were seated around the dining room table while Xander explained what happened while he was out.

"I didn't so much see as I heard. I was at the lumber yard getting blanks to turn into stakes when I heard these two guys talking. They said something about creating a disaster while the Slayer was away."

"Did they go into any specifics?"

Xander shook his head, "One of them just said he couldn't wait to see the look on the Slayer's face when she saw what happened to Sunnydale."

"What do think it is?" Anya asked Giles.

"Nothing apocalyptic I would imagine. It sounds like these individuals are trying to take advantage of Buffy's absence to cause some manner of trouble," Giles mused. "We must inform Spike and the potentials to keep an eye out for anything suspicious."

"I bet the First is behind this," Anya said. "It knew that Buffy would go to Sri Lanka, and now it's going to make its move, and our only defense is a bunch of Slayer wanna-be's and a half-crazy vampire."

"I beg your pardon," Giles said indignantly.

"Yeah, he begs your pardon," Xander added.

"Oh please, like you tow are good for anything more than head trauma when the fighting starts," Anya snapped. "Face it, big bad is on its way and we don't have our two best weapons."

"Then we'll just have to make do without them," Giles calmly said. "Mr. Tippin, I'd suggest you return to Los Angeles now before you wind up stuck here."

Will glanced around the room. A small portion of his brain reminded him that Sydney wouldn't run away. He then reminded his brain that he wasn't Sydney and that he had the information he was looking for. "Sorry about running off like this, but I think Mr. Giles is right. I'm useless in a fight so I'd be more a hindrance than a help."

"You're rationalizing," Anya said. "You don't have to. If you run away like a scared little girl we won't hold it against you."

"Don't listen to Anya, we wouldn't think you were a little girl," Xander said.

"And that weighs so heavily in my decision making process," Will quipped. "I have what I need, good luck with your disaster and it was good to see you again Xander." Will stood up and walked out of the house.

"Pansy," Anya muttered under her breath.

"In any event we would do well to prepare ourselves for whatever is coming," Giles said. "Anya, Xander, wake up Spike. I'll go fetch the Potentials from their training."

"Should we call the Initiative guys?" Xander asked.

"Only if you want to deal with that prat of a commanding officer. Amateurs indeed, let's see her read the signs of an impending apocalypse," Giles muttered.

"Wow, you really hold a grudge don't you?" Anya said with admiration.

"I am not holding a grudge," Giles snapped, "Well, maybe a little," he admitted. "Any way now is not the time to debate grudges. 

They all stood to complete their assigned tasks when they saw Will standing in the front hallway. "Oh look, the pansy's back," Anya commented. "Did you grow a spine sissy boy?"

"I was sitting in my car when I realized something. None of you are all that different from me, and you're staying. So what with this impending doom I figured you'd need all the help you could get?"

"Car won't start?" Xander asked.

"Dead as a doornail," Will confirmed.

"Serves you right, that's what happens to cowards," Anya said indignantly.

"Anya, as I recall you fled to the hills when the mayor's Ascension was at hand," Giles pointed out.

"That was different, the Ascension was certain doom. This is less certain doom...except Buffy's not here...Oh God, we are doomed! Damn you and your broken car!" Anya snapped.

Xander looked apologetically at Will, "Welcome to the Hellmouth buddy."

-Sri Lanka-

The door to Sydney's cells clanged open and the guards tossed the battered spy into it. Sydney hit the hard stone floor and did not even bother to look up when the door slammed shut. She bit back a sob and crawled onto her cot. It had been two days of unrelenting torture and she was still no closer to understanding what these people wanted, other than to see her suffer. She gingerly turned her head and stared out the window.

"Vaughn," she whispered. "Where are you?"

Her reverie was interrupted by a faint tapping sound. Concerned, Sydney sat up and looked around the room for the source of the tapping. She found that the noise was coming from beyond one of the cell walls. She pressed her hear to the wall and was pleasantly surprised to find that someone was tapping out Morse code. Sydney reached down for the wooden spoon lying in her food dish and hesitantly tapped out hello.

There was a long pause and for a moment Sydney thought she had scared off the other person. Then she heard the tapping resume. "Are you a prisoner too?" Sydney translated. She reached out and tapped "Yes." She paused and then resumed, "Who are you?"

"A local farmer," was the reply. "I saw lights on in the temple and went to investigate. The men in robes captured me. And you are?"

"An American," Sydney replied. "I was kidnapped in Colombo and brought here."

"An American? Then what worried do we have? Your Marines will rescue us I'm sure."

Despite herself Sydney smiled, "Let's hope you're right."

"I bet your countrymen are on their way even now."

This time Sydney did not reply, instead she returned her gaze to the window. "Get here soon Vaughn. I don't know how much longer I can hold out."

Jack Bristow pulled the rental SUV off the road and came to a stop in a small clearing at the foot of a vast jungle. "Is this the place?" He asked Gupta.

"Yes, yes it is, from here we go by foot."

The group got out of the Land Rover and began removing their gear. Gupta leaned on his staff and watched with amusement as the Americans shouldered their heavy packs.

"The problem with you Westerners is that you try to bring your notion of civilization with you wherever you go," he observed as Willow struggled with her pack.

"All I have in here is food, medicine, and magic supplies," Willow protested.

"My point exactly, you should let the land provide for you."

"Ms. Summers, Ms. Rosenberg, could you come here please?" Jack called out.

"What up Mr. B?" Buffy asked.

Jack stared at her balefully before speaking. "We're about to enter hostile territory so I want both of you to be armed. Here are pistols for the both of you." He handed Buffy and Willow holstered pistols. They silently accepted the firearms, though both of them knew they would never draw them. "Ms. Rosenburg I'd like you to take this," He handed Willow a compact rifle. "This is a Heckler and Koch MP-5 submachine gun. You should have no problem handling this weapon so long as you keep it on semi-automatic."

Willow took the MP-5. "Cool, it's like the guns in Die Hard."

"Now Ms. Summers?"

"Before you had me some death ray let me just say that guns and I don't get along," Buffy protested.

"That's too bad because I need you to use one." He reached into the Land Rover and pulled out a large machine gun. "This is a SAW, or Squad Automatic Weapon. With your strength you should have no trouble controlling it. I have no intention of fighting the First on its own terms. So we are going to attack hard and fast, and that means you have to use this weapon." Jack turned around and fired the SAW. He held the trigger down and sprayed the forest with bullets until the clip emptied.

Buffy stared at the saplings cut in half by the SAW. "Ok, that would impress most people, however?" Buffy punched a nearby tree, snapping the trunk cleanly in half. "I'm not most people."

"Ms. Summers you can take out the opposition one at a time. With this you can break the spine of any assault. If we get attacked while we're in that jungle I want to overwhelm the First's forces with superior firepower. We don't have the time or manpower to take them out one by one."

Buffy sighed, "Alright, give me the damn gun."

"Thank-you. Mr. Gupta?"

"If you want me to carry a weapon I must refuse, I am a pacifist."

Jack smiled, "I figured as much, that's why I was going to give you this radio." He handed Mr. Gupta a radio and a headset.

"Oh, thank-you very much."

"You're welcome and stay close to me. Somehow I doubt the First will respect a pacifist's ethos."

Mr. Gupta laughed ruefully, "No, probably not."

"Vaughn, are you ready?" Jack called out.

Vaughn stepped out from behind the Land Rover. He was dressed in camouflage and his face was covered in green and black paint. He carried a silenced MP-5 and had a sniper rifle slung across his back. "I'm set."

"Alright, you take point. Ms. Rosenberg, Mr. Gupta, stay between Ms. Summers and myself. Ms. Summers, follow Agent Vaughn." Jack pulled on a floppy camouflage bush and picked up an M16 with a grenade launcher mounted under the barrel. "Let's move out people." He ordered. Vaughn slipped into the jungle and the rest of the group followed shortly thereafter.

-Los Angeles-

Director Kendall paced in the operations center waiting for word from Jack Bristow about the progress of his mission. Kendall looked down at the report faxed to him by a man in Sunnydale named Rupert Giles. He grimaced as he read the report again. Jack was not going to like what it said.

"Sir?" Agent Weiss asked, interrupting Kendall's train of thought.

"What is it?" Kendall asked.

"We have Agent Bristow, the elder, on the sat-phone."

Kendall nodded, "Patch him throw," he ordered. Kendall walked over to a terminal and put on a headset. "Jack, is that you?"

"That's affirmative base," Jack replied.

"What's your status?"

"We're en route to the temple on foot. We've set up camp for the night and expect to reach our objective sometime tomorrow."

"That's good because we just recived word from Ms. Summers' associate, Rupert Giles, it seems he figured out what this First Evil wants Sydney for," Kendall paused.

"And that is?" Jack asked when Kendall did not continue.

"It wants to unleash hell on earth Jack and Sydney is its key to doing it."

"That's about what I figured," Jack sighed. "Are there any details I need to know about?"

"We'll fax the whole report over to you. Is there anything else you need to report?"

"No sir."

"Alright, get in touch when you have something to report." Kendall removed the headset. "Transmit that report now," he told Weiss.

Back in the Sri Lankan jungle Jack connected the satellite phone to the small computer he was carrying. He watched as the computer received the report. "Ms. Rosenberg, would you mind helping me with something?"

"Call me Willow," the young witch said.

"What?" Jack asked.

"Willow, that's my name. Use it. It makes me uncomfortable when you keep calling me Ms. Rosenberg."

"Yeah, and you don't have to keep calling me, Ms. Summers either," Buffy added.

Jack sighed, "Alright fine, Willow, would you mind helping me with this?"

"Sure, what is it?"

"Information from your friend Mr. Giles. He apparently figured out what the First wants with Sydney.

"Which is?" Buffy asked.

Willow took the laptop from jack and read the contents of the screen. "According to this if the heart of a pure warrior is placed on the alter in the center of the temple then the goddess Kali will be unleashed upon the world."

"And that would be bad right?"

"It says here that Kali is the goddess of death so I think it's safe to say yeah."

"It's not Kali that will be unleashed," Mr. Gupta said.

"How can you be so sure?" Willow asked the elderly man.

"Because I know Kali, rather, I know my religion. Kali does not indiscriminately slaughter. The Hindu Gods are not evil. Do you happen to have a copy of the original text?"

"Uh yeah, right here," Willow showed the computer to Mr. Gupta.

The elderly man read the screen and his face paled. "This is very bad, I had no idea?" he murmured to himself. "Whoever did this translation made a mistake, it's very slight, but important. It is not Kali that will be unleashed. It is the essence of Kali."

"I'm not getting the distinction," Buffy said.

"The goddess Kali was born when Lord Siva's consort, the Goddess Parwati, drained the blood of an evil demon the Gods were battling. The evil power of the dmeon filled Parwati and she became Kali."

"And let me guess is this where vampires come from?" Buffy asked.

"What? No, not that I am aware of. Parwati drank the demon's blood because that was the only way to destroy it. For every drop of blood it shed another demon would rise."

"So what you're saying is that the essence of Kali is this demon," Jack concluded.

"That is it precisely Mr. Bristow."

"What is it with the First and raising demon?" Buffy asked. "That thing's got a one track mind."

"But why didn't the gods destroy the demon's corpse?" Willow asked.

Gupta sighed, "Because they could not. The demon's hide proved to be too strong, even in death."

"So they buried it beneath the temple," Willow concluded.

"Not quite, the temple came later. It was built by worshipers of the demon. The British thought it was a monument to Kali, but then the British were mistaken about many things in India and Sri Lanka."

"So, now we know what it wants with Sydney," Vaughn said.

"Yes, Mr. Bristow's daughter has a spirit so pure that her blood will be sufficient to revive the demon."

"That means we have an added bonus for rescuing Sydney," Jack said. But let's be clear, the purpose of this mission is to get my daughter back. I don't care about demons, gods, or spirits of evil. I just want Sydney back."

"Of course you do Mr. Bristow, and of course the best way to thwart this vile plan is to rescue your daughter safe and sound."

"Alright, we should be at the temple tomorrow right?" Jack asked Mr. Gupta.

"That is correct," Mr. Gupta agreed.

"Then we need our rest. I want one person standing watch at all times. Vaughn, you take the first shift, then Willow, Buffy and myself. We leave at dawn."

Vaughn nodded and walked a short distance away from their encampment. He slowly paced, keeping an eye out for anything unusual.

"Hello Michael," the voice of Vaughn's long-dead father said. "It's good to see you again.

Vaughn spun around and pointed his gun at the shade. "You're not real, go away."

"It's true, I might just be a ghost, but you can't tell me you haven't enjoyed our brief chats over the past day. A chance to talk to your dear old dad."

"You're not my father."

"And how do you know that? Because some blonde bimbo says so? Haven't I proven myself to you? Can't I explain how you go every scar on your body? Don't I know all the songs I sang to you when you were a baby?"

"You're the thing that's holding Sydney."

The First chuckled, "Oh yes, Ms. Bristow, let's talk about her. I wonder what Frued would say about being involved with the daughter of your father's killer."

"Sydney isn't Derevko," Vaughn insisted.

"No, she's just her daughter, but she can't be trusted either."

"That's nonsense," Vaughn protested.

"Is it?" She betrayed her colleagues at SD-6. some traits run true and deception is one of them."

"Those were completely different situations," Vaughn said, "You can't possibly compare them."

"Is she that good in bed that you can't see the truth in front of you? She is the daughter of two turncoats, she'll end up betraying you as well. It's in her blood."

Vaughn shook his hea,d "You're wrong about her. She's not like that at all."

"Go ahead and keep believing that if it makes you feel less guilty at night."

"What do I have to feel guilty about?" Vaughn demanded.

"You haven't avenged my death. You know where she is and you've done nothing!" The First shouted.

"I've done plenty," Vaughn shot back, "I've opposed every benefit they've given her."

"She's still drawing breath isn't she? You haven't done enough."

"That's not what you have wanted. I know my father, and he wouldn't want this."

"What I wanted was a son who wasn't a disappointment. Who could make the tough decisions and honestly I'm glad that I'm dead. It means that I didn't have to see what a disappointment you grew into," the First sneered.

Vaughn stood there in stunned silence trying to form a reply. For practically his entire life Vaughn had wanted to speak to his father again. And now that he was it was not going as he had planned.

The crack of gunfire brought Vaughn back to reality. He quickly realized that the shots were coming from the direction of their camp. The camp he was supposed to be guarding. Vaughn stifled a curse and ran back towards the camp.

-Sunnydale-

"...So that is what we know," Giles told the assembled Potentials. "With Buffy and Willow battling the First in Sri Lanka it falls to you to thwart this latest threat."

"You expect us to take on some unknown demonic threat?" Kennedy asked.

"Well...yes, that is what I said," Giles admitted.

"Cool."

"Now then, I expect all of you to patrol even more vigorously than before, and if you see anything even remotely out of the ordinary call us." Giles instructed.

"And what do you want me to do?" Spike asked.

"Ask around the local demon population, see if there are any portents for a demonic invasion."

"Right, because all of the demons just wag their tongues like puppy dogs around me," Spike groused.

"If you'd rather you could help the Potentials patrol," Giles pointed out.

"Right, I could use a pint," Spike stood up and walked out of the room.

"The rest of you have jobs to attend to as well don't you?" Giles asked the cluster of girls who quickly dispersed.

When Potentials had left Will looked over at Giles, "You're grand army is a group of teenaged girls?"

"They're not just any teenaged girls, they're all potential slayers," Giles explained.

"And that means what?"

"If Buffy dies one of them gets the power of the Slayer," Anya explained.

"And until then?"

"They're ordinary girls," She admitted.

"Great, and we aren't calling the Army why?"

"Because Giles has unresolved sexual tension with the base commander," Anya said.

"I do not," Giles protested.

"Oh please, it's blatently obvious to anyone whose spent the past millennia dealing with the fallout of relationships. The two of you have tension."

"Perhaps we could talk about this at some other time?" Giles tersely asked.

"You guys sure have a different way of doing things," Will observed.

"How so?" Xander asked.

"I'm used to CIA types who are all business and don't worry about who's got tension with who."

"There is no tension, she is a miserable officious woman who thinks her title gives her the power to lord over everyone," Giles insisted. "You're just trying to avoid doing some research."

"And what if I am?" Anya sweetly asked.

"Then I'd say if you don't want to research so badly you can help patrol with the Potentials."

"Now wait a minute, I never said anything about that."

Xander caught Anya by the arm. "Come on Anya, Giles needs some alone time, we can go patrol the Bronze, maybe the evil-doers are having a pre-slaughter drink. Hey Will, you in?" Xander asked the other man. "Giles is about to go uber-British which is only safe when viewed from a distance."

"You don't mind?" Will asked Giles.

"Not at all, you can keep a eye out for the Potentials and make sure they don't decide to patrol the Bronze as well," Giles said, his voice laced with sarcasm. "Besides there really isn't much to do other than wait and see what happens."

"Ooh, are we going to the Bronze?" Dawn asked from the top of the stairs.

"We are, you have homework," Xander said.

"Come on Xander, there's impending doom," Dawn pleaded.

"And how silly are you going to look when the impending doom gets thwarted and you have to go to school tomorrow?"

"Xander, now is not the time to be scaring poor Dawn," Anya scolded. "Of course you can come along with us," she told Dawn. "It is your last night on earth after all."

Will stared at Anya, "Maybe I would have been better off walking back to LA," he mused.

-To be Continued-


	4. Chapter 3

God Shuffled His Feet: An Alias/Buffy Crossover  
By: Sam Lincoln

Rating PG-13

Summary: An ancient evil stalks Agent Sydney Bristow

Spoilers: General spoilers for the current seasons of Alias, and Buffy, but nothing specific to any storyline.

Disclaimer: All characters from _Buffy_ and _Angel_ are property of Mutant Enemy. All characters from _Alias_ are property of Bad Robot and Touchstone Television. All characters are used without permission and no infringement is intended.

God Shuffled His Feet: Chapter Three

-Sri Lanka-

"You think your friends are going to save you," Danny said, appearing suddenly in Sydney's cell.

"I know they are, Vaughn won't leave me behind," Sydney said defiantly.

Danny chuckled, "They certainly will try, but my Bringers will take care of them."

"We'll see about that."

"The only real question is whose bed are you going to jump into when your precious Vaughn is dead. Will Tippin's been trying to get into your pants for as long as you've known him. Maybe this is his chance." Danny stared at Sydney who was brimming with rage. "But I forgot, you'll be just as dead as me in a few days, and the rest of the world will follow suit."

"That is so not going to happen. Evil like you never wins."

"So now you think I'm evil? So much for being the love of your life."

"You're not Danny," Sydney snarled. "You might have his face and his voice, but you're not him."

"So you saw through my little ruse, took you long enough. No, I'm not Danny, but I control his soul, just like I control the souls of all who have died."

"I refuse to believe that a good person like Danny is anywhere near you."

"Little girl, your concept of the afterlife is so misinformed. There is no heaven, there is no hell. There is only nothingness, and me."

"Then if you're so tough show me your real face."

"Your feeble mind couldn't comprehend my true form," the First replied. "Besides, I like this face. I think I'll keep it for a while. At least until I can add a few more to my collection."

"You bastard!" Sydney seethed. She lunged at the First. In her anger she forgot about her ankle and she fell to the ground in pain. Before she hit the stone floor she passed through the First.

"You really do have a short memory don't you," the First said with a chuckle. "Sleep well Sydney, by this time tomorrow you'll be dead along with everyone else." The First vanished leaving Sydney lying on the floor of her cell.

Sydney tried to stand up, but found she did not have the strength. Instead she dragged herself over to the wall and pulled herself up into a sitting position.

Sydney raised a hand to tap on the wall but found that she did not have the strength. "What's the use?" she muttered to herself.

"Hello, is anyone where?" She heard a voice with a heavy Indian accent ask quietly.

Sydney stiffened, "Who's there?" she asked.

"It's just me, Mr. Sanjay, your neighbor. I found this hole in the wall today."

"Good, I was getting tired of the Morse code," Sydney replied with as much enthusiasm as she could muster.

"How are you doing?" Mr. Sanjay asked.

"I've been better," Sydney replied. It felt like every bruise and cut were throbbing in unison.

"Well don't worry, I'm sure your friends will be here soon."

"I hope your right," Sydney said.

"Of this I am sure. Is not the fact that we are talking to each other proof that the forces of evil aren't omniscient?"

"I suppose," Sydney said, unconvinced.

"Look at it this way, let's say this wall is great evil. At first glance it looks large and imposing, but upon further inspection you find cracks like this one. Holes that you can exploit like how we are taking advantage of this little chink."

"But this thing is so powerful," Sydney protested.

"There is no evil in this world that the power of good cannot overcome. The evil might appear to be stronger, but that is the nature of evil, and like I said, there is always a chink in the armor."

Sydney took a deep breath and felt the resolve seep back into her. Vaughn would move heaven and earth to rescue her. She knew that because she would do the same if their situations were reversed. All she had to do was wait, and endure.

Buffy stared into the small campfire Mr. Gupta had made over Agent Bristow's objections. The old man had finally managed to convince the CIA operative that he could make a fire sheltered from prying eyes. She looked over at the other side of the fire where Willow and Mr. Gupta were engaged in a quiet debate. Buffy couldn't hear what was being said, but she could guess what they were talking about; Willow's attempt to destroy the world. The fact that the fakir knew about the incident seemed to fascinate Willow. Buffy thought it had something to do with the way Mr. Gupta had so easily shrugged the incident off that got Willow's attention. Regardless of the reason Buffy did not really care to involve herself in that conversation. She had her friend back and was what mattered.

Buffy then looked over at Mr. Bristow who was cleaning his rifle. Having met the man Buffy now understood where Sydney got her drive from. Buffy had never met someone who wasn't bent on world destruction that seemed so willing to achieve his goal regardless of the cost. Se figured that was what it took to be a spy. Buffy also guessed that Sydney's capture had something to do with Mr. Bristow's air of hardness. She recognized that if anyone laid a hand on Dawn she would be every bit as ruthless in getting her back.

Buffy stood up and moved over to where Jack was sitting. "So what's the plan for tomorrow Mr. Bristow?"

"We go to the temple," Jack said as he finished putting the rifle back together, "rescue Sydney, and blow them all to hell." He loaded a clip and chambered the first round to emphasis his point.

"Simple and easy to remember, I like it" Buffy's voice trailed off as a faint rustling in the distance caught her attention.

Jack noticed the shift in Buffy's posture, "What is it?" he asked.

"I thought I heard something over there," Buffy said.

Jack nodded and set down his rifle. "Follow me," he told Buffy. He drew his pistol and screwed a silencer onto it, "and bring your gun."

Buffy picked up the machine gun and followed Jack into the brush. They quietly slipped through the forest until they saw a robed figure crouching behind a tree. Jack motioned for Buffy to follow him and the pair walked a short distance away.

"Who's that?" Jack asked Buffy.

"That's a Bringer, one of the First's servants," Buffy replied.

"He's probably a scout," Jack mused. "Stay here," he ordered, "I'll take care of this."

"You don't know me very well do you," Buffy quipped as she followed Jack back towards the scout. She put her hand on Bristow's arm when he aimed his pistol at the Bringer. "Here, let me," she whispered. Buffy set down her machine gun and crept up behind the scout.

She tapped the Bringer on the shoulder, "Hi there, you're dead.," Buffy told the Bringer before grabbing its head and twisting it sharply, snapping the evil minions neck. She let the corpse hit the ground with a soft thud. "Come on, they're going to attack the camp," she told Jack. The pair ran back to the campsite and found Willow and Mr. Gupta still locked in an intense conversation.

"so you see child, Hinduism teaches us that there is good in all things, so even though you did terrible things you can still be a good person if you allow yourself to move past it," he paused, "and never, ever, try to destroy the world again."

Willow smiled, "Alright, I promise." She reached out and hugged the elderly man. "Thanks Mr. Gupta." She turned and saw Buffy. "Hey Buffy, Mr. Gupta and I were talking about the nature of evil and stuffand there's something that's about to attack isn't there?" She asked when she saw the guns Buffy and Agent Bristow were carrying.

"We found a Bringer out in the jungle," Buffy said. "It's a safe bet there are more of them out there."

"Buffy, Willow, I want you to take positions here and here. These are your firezones; if anything enters them, kill it. Mr. Gupta stay in the middle, we'll try to keep you safe." Before Jack could finish his instructions a wave of Bringers came rushing out of the jungle. "Take them out!" Jack shouted as he fired his rifle into the oncoming rush, sending the first line of attackers tumbling to the ground.

Buffy raised her machine gun to her shoulder and pulled the trigger. The SAW barked and a cluster of Bringers fell down in a spray of blood. "A girl could get used to this," Buffy said to herself as she emptied the clip into the mass of Bringers.

In her haste Willow had left her submachine gun lying on the ground. Instead of gunning down the onslaught Willow held out her arms and conjured a mystical barrier around the Bringers attacking her. "I suggest you guys run away before this collapses on you," Willow warned them. Suddenly the barrier disappeared in a bright flashing, taking the Bringers along with it. "Oops, guess I kind of miscalculated," Willow said nonchalantly. She then turned her attention to another group of Bringers.

"How are you doing Mr. Gupta?" Jack asked after he took down a small knot of Bringers that were trying to sneak up on him. 

"I would be doing better if it wasn't quite so loud," Mr. Gupta shouted.

Buffy looked around and saw that none of the robed figures were moving. "Hey, I think we got all of them," she called out.

Willow stared at the carnage around them, "I think we need to find another campsite," she commented.

"Where is Mr. Vaughn?" Mr. Gupta asked. "Was he not supposed to be standing guard?"

"That is an excellent question," Jack agreed. "Vaughn, this is Bristow, please report in." He said into his radio.

There was a rustling in the bushes off to the group's right. Buffy and Jack raised their guns and aimed them in the direction of the noise. Instead of a Bringer it was Vaughn who burst out of the underbrush.

"I heard gunfire, what happened?" he asked.

"We were attacked by Bringers," Buffy said. "We're fine, no thanks to you."

"Now Buffy, there's no reason to take that attitude," Willow scolded her friend. "I'm sure Agent Vaughn has a perfectly good reason for letting the forces of darkness slip past him. You do right Agent Vaughn?"

"I thought I saw something so I went to investigate it. It must have been a distraction to draw me away," Vaughn stammered. For some reason he did not think the others would understand his confrontation with the thing impersonating his father so he decided to leave that part out of his story. "I should have known better," he said reproachfully.

"No, you were right to investigate," Jack told the younger agent. "They used a good plan against us, we were lucky Buffy was here."

"I know this is going to sound weird, but where's the First?" Buffy asked. "It's not like it not to show up and gloat whenever it has the chance."

"Did somebody say my name?" Angel asked, appearing out of nowhere.

"Don't you dare use that face," Buffy warned the First.

"Oh why not, Angelus was one of my favorite playthings. He was so evil it was delicious fun to watch him work. No one else had understood the artistry of the slaughter the way Angellus did." The First looked around the camp, "See this is what I mean. Look at this mess, where's the theme? Where are the dangling entrails, the flayed corpses? Bullet wounds are so boring, you get no sense of joy from them." The First sighed dramatically. "That's the problem with the twentieth century, everything became so automated. No one values hand craftsmanship anymore. Except for you Slayer, you still like things down and dirty don't you."

"Oh I don't know, playing Ripley has a certain appeal," Buffy replied as she hefted the machinegun in her hands.

"Please, you know that won't hurt me," the First scoffed.

"Are you here for a reason, or are you just trying to keep us up past our bed time?" Buffy asked.

"I just wanted to tell you two things. The first is that you aren't the only people with guns in this jungle."

Buffy shrugged, "Big deal, I'm petrified of blind sharpshooters. What else you got?"

"The important lesson Angelus taught me. The best way to destroy a person is through her loved one. I'm afraid Sunnydale is about to find itself in quite the predicament."

"So this whole thing was just a ploy to get me out of Sunnydale?"

"No you self-important bitch, the plan is to destroy the world. The destruction of Sunnydale is just an insurance policy. Unlike me you can't be everywhere Slayer. You made your choice and now your friends' lives are forfeit. Be seeing you Slayer." The First vanished before Buffy could say anything.

"Wait a minute, wasn't that Angel?" Vaughn asked.

"Yeah, and Angel's dead, and the First can look like anyone who's died. It doesn't matter if they're now undead." Buffy looked over at Jack. "Can you get on that fancy radio and call home? We need to warn Giles."

Jack shook his head. "The fear is limited to a special encrypted network. We can't dial any random number with it."

Buffy looked thoughtful for a moment, "Alright, I've got an idea."

-Sunnydale-

"This is your idea of tracking down evil?" Will asked Anya and Dawn, "Sit around at a club?"

"Would you rather be out there with all the nasties?" Anya asked. "Besides we're doing good work. Xander is keeping the canon fodder out." She pointed towards the entrance of the club where Xander was talking to a pair of teenaged girls.

"Still, you seem to be taking this impending doom thing in stride."

"Oh we get impending doom's all the time, they've even added them to the weather forecasts, 'partly cloudy tonight with a thirty percent chance of doom,'" Dawn said with a smile.

"Of course without Buffy we really are doomed," Anya grumbled. "So we might as well get drunk now." She finished off her glass and walked over to the bar to get a refill.

While Anya was away Xander finished shooing away the Potentials and returned to the table Will and Dawn were sitting at. "There's nothing quite like forcing a couple of teenagers out to face an unknown evil to work up a thirst for alchohol." Xander looked down at his glass. "What happened to my beer?"

"Anya decided she needed it more," Dawn explained.

Anya walked back to the table and deposited a pitcher in the middle of the group. "I told the bartender to send another one over for the rest of you."

"What is it with you guys?" Dawn asked. "It's not like we haven't dealt with the bad guys without Buffy before."

"But that before 'From beneath you it devours,'" Anya snapped. "This is probably all part of the First's grand plan. What if it releases one of those super vamps? We'd be screwed." Anya took a long drink straight from the pitcher.

"Wait, what's a super vamp?" Will asked.

"Oh Giles has some fancy name for it, but it's just like any other vampire, only stronger, uglier, and meaner," Anya explained.

"Alright, so why aren't we running like hell?"

"Because," Xander said. "If the First does win then nowhere is safe. So we stay and fight, and believe me I'd rather be a casualty in the first battle than live in a world the First controls."

Will stared at Anya's pitcher. "I think I'm going to need one of those," he noted.

Before Will had a chance to get up from the table Kennedy ran up to the group. "What are you doing here?" Anya asked before Kennedy had a chance to speak. "Shouldn't you be out there being cannon fodder?"

"The attack," Kennedy gasped, "it's started."

"Well what is it, bug demons, vampires, giant slugs?" Dawn asked.

Kennedy shook her head, "No it's" before she could finish her sentence the front door crashed open and a slightly decayed corpse shuffled into the room.

"Zombies?" Anya shouted. "I got all worked up over zombies?"

"But they're undead, aren't zombies scary?" Kennedy asked. As they watched the zombie grabbed the bouncer and started to gnaw on the man.

"You're new at this all this, zombies are the weakest of the weak. They're just reanimated meatbags with a hankering for brains. Watch this." Anya stood up and weaved her way through the panicking crowd to the bar. She reached behind the bar and picked up a large carving knife. She then walked over to zombie and tapped it on the shoulder. "Hi there, want to help me prove a point?" Anya asked the zombie. Before the zombie had a chance to react Anya slammed the cracking knife into the corpse's head. The zombie slumped to the ground. 

"See, how hard is that?" she asked the group. "The only problem with zombies is that they overwhelm you with numbers" Anya turned around and saw an additional five zombies, including the former bouncer. "Oh crap."

"Anya duck!" Xander shouted. Anya looked and saw Xander throw a bottle of whiskey at one of the zombies. The bottle shattered against the zombies head, drenching it in alcohol, but little else.

"Oh good job, you didn't even distract it," Anya chided.

Bitch, bitch, bitch," Xander replied as he tossed a lit book of matches on the zombie. The alcohol-soaked zombie lit up like a torch and stumbled into its fellow walked dead setting them on fire.

Anya seized the opportunity and sprinted away from the flaming zombies. "Okay," she gasped, "One zombie, no problem, many zombies, problem. But still, no self-respecting beast from the pit would stoop to using zombies. It'stacky and childish, something a person who's watched too many horror movies would do."

"We can figure that part out later," Xander said. "Come on, we'd better go see Giles. He probably knows the best way to get rid of zombies."

"And my life suddenly shifts from a John Le Carre novel to a Roger Corman movie," Will groused.

"Don't worry, if you stay close to use you won't get your brains eaten," Dawn told Will, "After all, we're the good guys."

Will stared at Anya, Dawn, Kennedy and Xander, "That makes me feel so much better."

-Sri Lanka-

"Wake up Ms. Summers, wake up," Mr. Gupta said as he gently shook Buffy's arm.

"I'm up, I'm up," Buffy said as she brushed off Mr. Gupta's hand. "What's up?"

"Mr. Bristow said it's time to move out," Mr. Gupta told the Slayer.

"Alright," Buffy groaned as she pushed herself up off the ground. "What time is it?" She asked Mr. Gupta.

"Early," the elderly man replied. "Excuse me, I must wake up Ms. Rosenberg now."

Buffy nodded and reached into her backpack for a package of moist towelettes. She peeled a towellette off of the pack and used it to wipe off the grime that had accumulated on her over the course of the previous day. It didn't feel as good as a shower, but she at least felt cleaner. After she popped two sticks of gum into her mouth she walked over to where Bristow and Vaughn were standing.

"Anybody want some Big Red?" she asked. "It lets you kick-ass a little longer."

"No thank-you, and please don't blow any bubbles whenwell anytime," Jack said.

"Don't worry Mr. B it isn't bubble gum. You can't blow bubbles with it," Buffy replied.

"Ooh gum, can I have a stick?" Willow asked as she joined the rest of the group.

"Sure thing Will, how about you Mr. Gupta?"

"Thank-you very much. Ah Big Red, it gives your breath long-lasting freshness you know."

"Never let it be said that American marketing is anything less than ubiquitous," Buffy quipped.

"Are we ready?" Jack asked. "We have a lot of ground to cover today if we're going to reach Sydney in time."

"Very true indeed Mr. Bristow, I'm ready," Mr. Gupta said. Buffy and Willow noddedi n agreement. 

"Ok the same formation as yeterday, Vaughn at point and myself in the rear. Let's move." Vaughn nodded and slipped into the jungle. Buffy shouldered her machinegun and followed the CIA agent.

They had been walking for a short while when Mr. Gupta caught up with Buffy. "How are you doing?" He asked the Slayer.

"How am I doing? I'm tromping through a jungle on my way to try and stop evil itself from destroying the world, again. And if we do manage to stop the First this time there's still whatever the hell it's planning to do in Sunnydale. I have to be perfect every time, the First only has to get lucky once, so how do you think I'm doing?"

"Does that mean you're going to give up?" Mr. Gupta gently asked.

"No, I decided that the next time I die it'll be from old age, not the boogyman. Still this does get pretty draining, you know? I mean why can't I just slay the dragon and get a happily ever after?"

"Because you balance the scale," Mr. Gupta said. "Existence depends on balance as much as anything, great evil and great good exist in equal proportions in every man. You and the First are just a life-sized representation of that duality."

"But that hardly seems balanced, the First is pure evil and I'm just a person," Buffy protested.

"Look at it this way, why is the First evil?"

Buffy shrugged, "Because it is?"

"Exactly, and why do you fight it?"

"Because I'm the Chosen One."

"But just because someone has the power of the Slayer does not automatically mean a person will do good now does it?"

"Well no," Buffy admitted.

"So you have made a choice. You chose to oppose the forces of evil, and that is where your true power comes from."

"But I didn't choose to be the Slayer," Buffy objected.

"True, but you did choose to take on the mantle of the Slayer, and you're doing a better job of it than any other Slayer I've met."

"You meet a lot of Slayers to make that comparison?" Buffy wryly asked.

"You'd be surprised," Mr. Gupta replied. "Trust me, you are the best Slayer ever, and that's a tribute to your humanity."

"My what?"

"Your humanity, you've clung to it more than any other Slayer and that's what gives you strength. You know what you're fighting to protect."

"Oh but it is," Mr. Gupta replied. "It's the thing that the dark creatures lack."

"You're talking about souls aren't you?" Buffy asked.

"That's one way to describe it," Mr. Gupta replied.

Buffy glanced over at Willow, "If there's one thing I've learned recently it's that a soul does not stop a person from doing bad things."

"This is very true, like I said all people have in them the capacity for tremendous evil, yourself included. But within everyone is some bit of good as well."

"It's all about choice right?"

"Exactly, Willow chose to reject the dark magic; just like to chose to let the darkness take hold. Similarly you choose to use your power to protect, unlike Faith who chose a different path."

Buffy stumbled on an exposed root. "How do you know Faith?"

"The mystical community is very small and word spreads quickly. News of a rogue Slayer spreads quickest of all."

"I can see that," Buffy said after a moment's reflection. "But how does all this choice make me stronger than the First?"

"Humanity is about choice, that is its defining aspect. The Slayers before you lost sight of this, they let their Slayer powers define who they were. You fight because you want to live. You're familiar with the concept?"

"I'veheard it," Buffy admitted. "But you're wrong, I fight because I have to. If I don't fight the world is doomed."

Mr. Gupta smiled, "I never said that both choices were good, but they are choices. Look, you said it yourself, you fight to protect. If you stay true to yourself you will get your wish of a long life."

Buffy stared at the fakir, "Who are you?"

"A simple fakir, I assure you."

"Well you're a hell of a motivational speaker," Buffy said.

"I'm glad I could be of help. Just my own little contribution to your fight."

Buffy didn't reply, instead she watched the elderly fakir thread his way through the jungle. There was something about the man that Buffy couldn't quite put her finger on. She didn't think he was evil, but there certainly was more to Mr. Gupta than met the eye.

  
-to be continued- 


	5. Chapter 4

God Shuffled His Feet: An Alias/Buffy Crossover  
By: Sam Lincoln

Rating PG-13

Summary: An ancient evil stalks Agent Sydney Bristow

Spoilers: General spoilers for the current seasons of Alias, and Buffy, but nothing specific to any storyline.

Disclaimer: All characters from _Buffy_ and _Angel_ are property of Mutant Enemy. All characters from _Alias_ are property of Bad Robot and Touchstone Television. All characters are used without permission and no infringement is intended.

God Shuffled His Feet: Chapter Fourt

-Sunnydale-

"Giles, where are you?" Anya shouted as the group burst into the Summers household. The trip from the Bronze had proven to be relatively zombie free; Xander assumed that meant the zombies were focused on destroying downtown.

"I was just in the kitchen making some tea," Giles said as he walked into the room, "What's the matter?"

"We found out what the First's plan is," Anya said, "Zombies."

"Zombies? Are you sure?" Giles asked.

"Of course I'm sure, I know what zombies look like."

"Well, I admit that is unexpected, but given the number of corpses in Sunnydale there is quite a base for a zombie army," Giles noted.

"Uh guys, we've got a problem," Dawn said. She pointed out the window at a shambling horde of zombies advancing down the street.

"Get weapons and bar the doors and windows," Giles ordered.

"Hey, wait a second," Will said as the Scoobies leapt into action. "Why are we staying here? Wouldn't it be safer if we stayed mobile? Barricading the doors doesn't do much in horror movies after all."

"Good lord, he has a point," Giles said. "New plan, run for the hills."

"Too late," Xander called out, "Zombies in the backyard.

"That settles that," Kennedy said as she picked up an axe.

"I've imagined thousands of painful deaths for myself, but being eaten by a zombie never crossed my mind," Anya told no one in particular.

"We're not dead yet," Dawn told the former demon.

"No but it's only a matter of time. They're going to bang on the house until something gives and then pour in here. We'll kill a bunch of them, but their relentless thirst for brains will overwhelm us and we'll be eaten. I've seen this story enough times to know how it ends."

"Wait a second, I thought you said that zombies were a joke?" Will demanded.

"They are, to demons, are you a demon and just forgot to tell us?" Anya shot back.

"Anya, would you please go fetch the weapons," Giles ordered Anya.

"Fine, for all the good it will do," Anya muttered.

"Sorry about that, Anya gets a major case of the wigs whenever she's in a near death situation," Xander explained as he pushed a sofa against the front door.

"That happen often around here?" Will asked.

"Well you know, between the apocalypse and zombie hordes we keep busy."

Anya dragged a chest into the dining room, "Weapons are here."

Giles opened the chest and handed out swords and axes to the group. "Xander, Anya, Kennedy, guard the kitchen. Dawn, Mr. Tippin and myself will hold the front door. If they break through head upstairs that way we can try to effect an escape." The group nodded and took up positions around the barricaded doors. They anxiously waited for the first sign of the zombie attack. "I'm terribly sorry you got yourself caught up in all this," Giles told Will.

"Not your fault," Will assured Giles. "I'm here because I thought it might help Sydney, plus that whole car thing."

"Ah of course, still, my apologies." The front door began to shake as the undead horde outside began its attempt to beat their way in. "Dawn," Giles snapped, "get a crossbow and go upstairs. Take out as many as you can." Dawn nodded and ran upstairs. "I don't know why I didn't think of that sooner," Giles commented.

Their attention was diverted from the door by the sound of breaking glass in the dining room. Giles and Will looked and saw a zombie crawling through the open window. Giles ran over and decapitated the zombie with a switch blow from his axe. 

"Kennedy, come out here and watch this window," Giles shouted before returning to Will's side. 

"What exactly can we do to stop them?" the reported asked.

"Kill themagain," Giles replied. "There is no such thing as zombie repellant."

"Too bad," Will muttered.

They looked up and saw the plywood placed in front of the living room bay window start to buckle. At the same time the sofa leaning against the front door began to slid backwards.

"Get ready to run," Giles told Will.

"What about you?"

"Someone has to hold them off," Giles said, "And you look more likely to cut your own foot off than hitting a zombie. Don't worry, I don't intend to stay behind all that long."

"Giles, they're breaking through back here," Xander yelled.

"Then fall back upstairs, Kennedy you too."

Kennedy and Anya ran past Will and Giles on their way upstairs. Xander came to a stop next to the other two men. "Better get upstairs Will, things are about to get sticky."

Before Will had a chance to protest, the barricade blocking the front door gave way and a flood of zombies began streaming into the room. Giles and Xander threw themselves at the rush and began hacking zombies down.

"Run," Xander shouted at Will.

Will stared at the battle for a moment before running up the stairs. Giles and Xander let the crush of zombies push them back towards the staircase.

"This isn't some suicidal stand to buy the others time right?" Xander asked Giles.

"It most certainly is not. I have no intention of becoming a zombie," Giles indignantly replied.

"Good because neither do I," Xander said as he cut down another zombie. "Run on three?"

"Agreed."

"OK, one, two three!" Xander and Giles turned and ran up the stairs.

"Giles, Xander down here!" Anya shouted from Buffy's room. They ran into the room and Anya slammed the door behind them. "Quick, block the door," Anya told Kenney and Will who shoved a dresser in front of the door. "That ought to slow them down."

"So when do we run away?" Dawn asked.

Giles looked out the window, "Soon, I want to let more of the zombies into the house. It will make it harder for them to follow us." The door began to rattle as the zombies in the hall pounded on it. "We can also hold out here for a while. There's only one way for the zombies to get in."

"Maybe we won't have to wait that long," Kennedy said. "Check it out." She pointed out the window.

The rest of the group looked outside and saw a dark-green Hummer pull up in front of the house. Mounted on the roof of the Hummer was a machine gun. A soldier stood up and manned the machine gun as three other figures dressed in black jumped out of the vehicle. The machine-gunner fired and mowed down the zombies in the front yard, clearing a path for the three soldiers on the ground.

"I'd say we're being rescued," Xander observed as the four soldiers ran into the house. He waved at the Hummer "We're upstairs!" He shouted.

"Should we go outside and meet them?" Anya asked.

"No, it would be best if we waited here, that way we won't get accidentally shot," Giles said.

The group listened as the sound of gunfire echoed through the house. The zombies continued their assault on the group's hideout despite the counter attack that raged downstairs. The zombies managed to knock a hole in the door before being cut down in a hail of bullets.

"Upstairs is clear," they heard a muffled female voice say. "Checking the status of the objective now." A head, completely covered by a helmet, nightvision goggles and a black balaclava, appeared in the hole in the door. "It's ok folks, this floor is clear.

Will and Xander pushed the dresser out of the way and the group walked out into the hallway. The floor outside the room was littered with zombie remains.

"Oh great, I'm going to have to put in some serious overtime to fix this mess up," Xander said as he surveyed the bullet riddled walls. "The whole hall needs new drywall hung."

"Hostages are safe," the masked soldier said into her radio. "All units report in to me, is the house clear?" The soldier waited. "Good, we're clear." The soldier removed her helmet and mask to reveal the face of a woman in her late thirties with shoulder-length red hair; green, penetrating eyes; and a very determined stare. "Well Mr. Giles, it looks like this 'rank amateur' just pulled your irons out of the fire."

"Yes, and thank-you very much for that Colonel O' Connell," Giles said. "If you don't mind me asking, what brings you here?"  
  
"You mean other than the walking dead?" Colonel O' Connell asked in obvious amusement."

"I only asked because I know you have limited resources and more defenseless targets to protect."

"We received intel that something bad was brewing and that you guys would be the target," the colonel said. "And wouldn't you know the spooks at Langley were right for a change."

"Lucky for us," Xander commented.

"Plus I heard the police reports over the radio. I figured that Rupert Giles would be right in the middle of a zombie attack, and that he'd probably be in need of a rescue."

"I'll have you know I am capable of taking care of myself," Giles protested.

"And you were doing such a bang up job of it too," O' Connell said dryly.

"See, what did I say, unresolved tension, these two need to be locked in a room and have animalistic sex," Anya told Will.

"I think I'll settle for finding a way out of our current predicament," Giles said, clearly mortified by Anya's claim.

"Shooting them in the head's worked so far," Colonel O' Connell said. "Why not stick with that?"

"Because Colonel, that only treats the symptom, not the disease. Something is causing the dead to rise, if we can stop that then all of this will end."

"Ok, how do we do that then?"

"I do not know, the necromantic arts are quite diverse" Giles paused, "but it cannot be a smiple raising spell. It has to be something sustained. I will have to consult my texts." Giles walked downstairs, a look on intense concentration on his face.

"Giles, what should we do?" Xander asked. "Giles?" He called out as he and the others followed the Watcher downstairs.

Colonel O' Connell turned and saw Will for the first time. "You must be the man from the Agency. Lieutenant Colonel Anne O'Connell at your service. I'm the CO of the HST Response Team Training Center."

"Will Tippin, analyst, pleased to meet you."

"What's a CIA analyst doing in Sunnydale? If I can ask that."

"Xander and I are friendswell more like drinking buddies actually. I came down for a visit and picked the wrong time." Will congratulated himself on his half truth.

Colonel O'Connell stared intently at Will. She might have been a full head shorter than Will, but the force of her personality more than made up the difference. "And you had nothing to do with the Flash traffic we received from the LA Ops Center regarding HUMINT gathered in Sri Lanka?"

"I honestly have no idea what you just said."

O'Connell laughed, "What sort of analyst are you?"

"A very new one," Will truthfully replied.

"That's a good one," Colonel O'Connell clapped Will on the shoulder, "Come on, let's go blow some zombies the hell up."

They joined the others downstairs. Xander and the other soldiers were dragging zombie remains outside while Giles read through an ancient text. Kennedy sat next to the front door and nervously peaked outside from time to time.

"Find anything yet?" Colonel O'Connell asked Giles.

"Yes, I found the solution to all our troubles in the time it took you to walk down the stairs," Giles sarcastically replied. "It's a complicated process, these things do take time you know."

"Would it help to know that the attacks originated in the cemetery and so far have been limited to within the boundaries of the town?"

"Actually, yes, that does narrow things down. Xander, while I work on this I want you and the others to go patrolling, check all the usual places for anything out of the ordinary."

Xander nodded, "We're on it."

"Mr. Harris, before you go I brought some supplies you might want. Sergeant Hickman, would you and Corporal Scott unpack the Humvee?" Colonel O'Connell ordered two of the soldiers.

"I don't think that's necessary," Giles protested.

"Nonsense, guns put down zombies, why not use them?"

"Giles we hear out the scary military lady," Xander said. "What sort of supplies?" He asked Colonel O'Connell.

"Nothing special, just standard anti-personnel firearms, shotguns and things like that."

"We get shotguns?" Kennedy asked. "Neat."

The two soldiers returned to the living room carrying several heavy crates between them. They set the crates down and the sergeant opened the top crate up. Kennedy brushed past the two soldiers and reached inside the crate.

"Be careful," Giles admonished the girl, "These are not toys."

"I know that," Kennedy replied as she examined a shotgun. "I used to shoot skeet at the family farm."

"Oh, of courseif anyone needs me I'll be with my books," Giles walked off leaving the others standing around the weapons crates.

"Oooh, what's this?" Xander asked as he picked up a rifle.

"That's a flechette gun. It's like a shotgun except it fires ten tungsten darts that can punch through steel plating."

"And makes zombies go splat, I like it," Xander's face turned serious, "Uhm, what about the rest of the Potentials?"

"I ordered the rest of the Initiative troops to sweep the town, when they come across your people they're going to escort them back to our base, they'll be safe enough there."

"Great, when we leave could you take Dawn there?

"Xander, no!" Dawn protested.

Xander set down his rifle and held Dawn by her shoulders, "Look Dawnie, it's obvious the First is trying to kill us to get at Buffy. She could handle one of us dying, but she couldn't handle you dying. You've got to stay safe and alive for Buffy. You don't have to lie it, but you do have to accept it."

"You're right, I don't like it," Dawn pouted. "But I do see your point, kind of. Can I at least take one of the cool guns?"

Xander smiled, "Sure, and you never know, you might get ambushed by zombies on your way there, or get trapped in a desperate zombie siege."

"Aww, you're just saying that to make me feel better," Dawn said as she hugged Xander. She noticed the strange looks on the non-Scoobies in the room. "What?"

"You people are weird," Will said.

"Ok, I'll stay behind and keep an eye on Mr. Giles," Colonel O'Connell said, "Sergeant Hickman you're with Mr. Harris and his team. Corporal Ridley take the Slayer's sister back to HQ in the Humvee. Master Sergeant Judge, you're with me."

"Uh, what about me?" Will asked.

Colonel O'Connell shrugged, "That's up to you, I'm not your CO."

Will looked around the room, "I think I'll go with Xander, try being a moving target for a change, with guns."

Xander nodded, "Cool, how about you Anya?"

"You know my feelings about these soldier types, I'm going with you."

"Hey guys, has anyone seen Andrew?" Dawn asked suddenly.

"No, do you suppose the little twit got his brains eaten, or is that too much to hope for?" Anya asked the group.

"Did somebody say my name?" Andrew asked. "I fell asleep in the basement...whoa, zombies," he said when he saw the mess in the dining room.

"You'll want to take Andrew to your base, just to get him out of your hair," Xander told the Colonel.

"Wait a second, I know a lot about zombies, take me with you," Andrew insisted. "I don't mix well with soldiers."

"Yes, let's take him with us. We ca use him as a decoy to distract the zombies," Anya said to Xander.

"That wasn't quite what I had in mind," Andrew stammered.

Xander sighed, "Ok fine, Andrew can come along too."

"Can I carry a gun?" Andrew asked Xander.

"No!" Everyone in the room said in unison.

-Sri Lanka-

"He was hiding in that tree," Vaughn explained as the group stood over the body of a dead Bringer. Clutched in its hands was the distinctive shape of an AK-47 assault rifle.

"Good eyes Vaughn," Jack said.

"I guess the First wasn't kidding," Buffy commented.

"This changes nothing," Jack declared. "We just have to be that much more vigilant that's all. Let's move out."

Willow paused to bend down and touch the AK. It glowed red then fused into an unusable lump of metal. "What can I say, I don't like guns," she explained as the group got underway.

After they were away from the attempted ambush Mr. Gupta slow to let Jack catch up with him. "Mr. Bristow, I have a question for you."

"Yes, what is it?"

"After we rescue your daughter, what then?"

"There's a Navy special operations ship sitting off the coast. As soon as I give the signal a Pave-Low Nighthawk helicopter with a pair of Comanche gunship escorts will take off and rendezvous with us at the temple. From there the Nighthawk will fly to the USS Theodore Roosevelt where we'll then fly to Diego Garcia and then home."

"That's not what I meant," Mr. Gupta said.

"As I said before, you'll be well compensated for your assistance."

"That's also not what I meant," Mr. Gupta said again.

"Then what did you mean?"

"You are a man full of guilt Mr. Bristow. I wonder will you be able to set it down."

"What are you talking about?"

"You're a man defined by your guilt. It's obvious to anyone who knows where to look." Mr. Gupta paused. "You feel guilty about Sydney's capture."

"I do not, there was nothing I could have done," Jack protested.

"Whoever said that guilt was rational?" Mr. Gupta rhetorically asked. "You feel guilty about her capture because you feel guilty about her joining SD-6."

"How do you know that?" Jack asked in shock.

"That is my gift, I can see the unseen things. I cannot read you mind, but I can read your heart, and these things are easy to spot."

"I never intended her to get involved in any of this. I wanted her to live an ordinary life. One without the violence and lies," Jack explained.

Mr. Gupta nodded, "That is the natural, but parents do not get to choose their children's path. Sydney has the warrior spirit. This what she is destined to do."

"Destiny," Jack snorted. "You make it sound like there's some sort of grand plan that we're nothing more than cogs in the machine."

"That is true, to a certain extent. We all are what we are. You daughter is like you, a warrior. That is her nature and this is what she would be doing in one way or another, regardless of how certain events in her life transpired. And if that was not the case she would not be the daughter of Jack Bristow and Irina Derevko." Mr. Gupta saw the stunned look on Jack's face and chuckled. "Come now Mr. Bristow, don't look so surprised, the guilt you feel over your ex-wife is the sharpest of all."

"As soon as we get out of this jungle I am placing you under arrest until we can figure out how you're getting this classified information," Jack fumed.

"Relax Mr. Bristow, you're operational security is safe. As I said I can sense that which is foremost in your heart, and you carry so much guilt over your wife. You feel guilty about not seeing through her cover sooner..."

"She was a well-trained operative with a nearly impenetrable cover, even James Bond would have had a hard time learning the truth," Jack countered.

"I am not the person who needs to be told that," Mr. Gupta replied. "It is perfectly understandable you know. You were betrayed by the woman you loved, the mother of your daughter. You thought you could trust her, and that misplaced trust lead to death. Yet despite all that you still love her."

"I want nothing more than to see that woman dead," Jack insisted.

"Of that I do not doubt, but tell me, how many dates have you gone on since your wife left you?"

"My career doesn't allow for it."

"Oh nonsense, it allowed you to marry and raise a child. Mr. Bristow, I am not saying you should forgive your wife for her crimes. All I am saying is that your feelings about her, the good and the bad, cloud your judgment."

"I know my duty and my personal feelings regarding Derevko will not hinder my ability to execute my mission."

"Mr. Bristow, there is a difference between executing your mission and your personal emotional well-being. It is the latter that concerns me, not the former."

"Why?"

"Because no man should be burdened by such guilt. You need to ask yourself Mr. Bristow, do you need to be carrying this cross?"

"Interesting choice of words," Jack noted.

Mr. Gupta shrugged, "In your case it is an apt metaphor. Besides Ghandi was well versed in Christian mythology, why can't I?"

Jack smiled, "I suppose so. Look, supposing what you say is true and I'm not saying it is, but the only way I'll stop worrying about my daughter is when she leaves this life behind. She didn't choose this life, she's had to correct the mistakes I made in the past. All I can do now is make sure Sydney gets out of this alive. I've already failed her once, I won't do it again."

"You have not failed your daughter, you succeeded in the most important way, you raised her."

Jack snorted, "I'm sure Sydney would have a few choice things to say about that."

"Your actions following your wife's departure you mean?"

"Yes, there wasn't much love in that household."

"You thought you were protecting Sydney yes?"

"In part, but I guess I was also protecting myself. There is a lot of her mother in Sydney."

"And you didn't like the reminder?"

"Who would?" Jack shot back.

"Then why all this over a person who reminds you of your most painful memory?"

"Because she's my daughter too," Jack fiercely replied.

Mr. Gupta nodded, "Of course, and you love her, naturally. You see Mr. Bristow, your daughter is a remarkable woman, more remarkable than you can imagine, and a lot of the credit for that goes to you. Throughout all your emotional turmoil you acted to protect your daughter. She might not have acknowledged it, but on some level she recognized the love that lay behind your actions. It is the drive of her mother tempered by your compassion that has made her the person she is."

"My compassion? Your second sight must be dimming," Jack scoffed.

"Your wife acts out of avarice, you act out of love, the difference is not even subtle. You would lay down your life for Sydney yes?"

"Of course."

"Do you think Derevko would?"

"No," Jack said without a moment's hesitation.

"There you are, your proof that you are a good father, and that you can set aside your guilt."

"I can't, it's all that I have to keep me going," Jack softly replied.

Mr. Gupta bowed his head, "Of course, I should have seen that sooner, but mark my words Mr. Bristow, you will never know peace as long as you allow your guilt to consume you. You must make peace with your past before you can face your future."

"You speak with great wisdom Mr. Gupta, but with all due respect you do knot know me, and it is presumptuous to think you do."

Mr. Gupta slowed his pace slightly, letting Jack get a head of him. "Oh I know you better than you think Mr. Bristow, but now is not the time to prove you wrong. Not when there is so much left to do."  


-to be continued- 


	6. Chapter 5

God Shuffled His Feet: An Alias/Buffy Crossover  
By: Sam Lincoln   
Rating PG-13  
Summary: An ancient evil stalks Agent Sydney Bristow  
Spoilers: General spoilers for the current seasons of Alias, and Buffy, but nothing specific to any storyline.  
Disclaimer: All characters from _Buffy_ and _Angel_ are property of Mutant Enemy. All characters from _Alias_ are property of Bad Robot and Touchstone Television. All characters are used without permission and no infringement is intended.  
God Shuffled His Feet: Chapter Five  
-Sunnydale-  
"I really don't see why you are still here," Giles groused. "There are plenty of things for you to blow up outside."  
"And miss out on a chance to watch the master in action? Not a chance," Colonel O'Connell replied. "Besides that zombie attack was deliberate, somebody has to hang around to make sure they don't try again."  
Giles looked up from the text he was reading, "It was what?"  
"Targeted, I had troops downtown report that a group of zombies broke off from the main group and came this way. They didn't touch anything or anyone that wasn't in their way."  
"And why didn't you mention this sooner?"  
The colonel shrugged, "It didn't come up?"  
"Didn't come up? That is precisely the sort of information I need to identify the spell that summoned these bloody zombies!" Giles shouted. "IF you don't want to be thought of as an amateur then stop acting like one." Giles noticed the faint hints of a smile around the Colonel's mouth, it was an expression he had come to know since becoming Buffy's Watcher. "And what pray tell is so funny?"  
The colonel's face colored as she slapped a hand over her mouth, "I'm sorry Mr. Giles, I guess the absurdity of the situation just caught up to me. You're right, this is serious, and I should have mentioned the zombies sooner."  
Giles felt his temper recede, "Oh all right, and please, call me Giles, or Rupert, no one else feels it neccesary to call me Mr., why should you be any different."

"Then I guess you'll have to call me Anne," the Colonel replied with a smile. "So Rupert, tell me, does knowing the zombies targeted this house help?"  
In ripely Giles reached down and picked up a book. He opened it up to a specific page and held it up for the Colonel to see. "As a matter of fact it does. We're dealing with an Orb of Nergal."  
"A what?"  
"An orb of Nergal." Giles sighed, "Nergal was the Babylonian god of death. The orb allows you to control the dead."  
"How do we stop it?"  
"Destroy the orb of course, but it must be done quickly. The longer the orb is used the more powerful it gets and the greater its sphere of influence becomes."  
"Does that mean what I think it does?"  
"If you mean more zombies then yes, it does."  
"How many more?"  
"If left unchecked the orb's influence could cover the planet."  
"This stopped being funny long ago. Master Sergeant Judge!" The Colonel called out.  
"Yes ma'am." Sergeant Judge asked as he walked int other room.  
"Get Sergeant Hickman on the radio, tell him Mr. Giles has found the answer to our zombie problem."  
"Yes Ma'am," the sergeant nodded and left the dining room.  
"So now that you've figured that out is there any reason to stay here? I don't like being where the bad guy wants to be."  
"If I'm right and we are dealing with an Orb of Nergal then there is a force behind the attacks, and whoever that is would have to know that the first attack failed."  
"So that means there will be another attack, in greater numbers...which means the force guarding the orb will be smaller, especially if the second attack meets resistance. Pretty ballsy Rupert, I don't have any additional troops. Hell I'm probably going to have to send Sergeant Judge back to base to make sure nobody breaks into it." Colonel O'Connell paused, "Plus I don't ask my men to make suicide stands."  
Sergeant Judge walked into the room. "Excuse me ma'am, but Carpenter wants to talk to Limey."  
Giles cocked an eyebrow, "Limey?" he asked Colonel O'Connell.  
The colonel shrugged, "We were in a hurry."  
Giles sighed and took the headset. "Hello Xander..."  
Colonel O'Connell turned and faced Sergeant Judge, "Master Sergeant, I need you to report back to HQ. Mr. Giles and I will keep an eye on things here."  
"Are you sure that's a good idea?"  
"Not at all Master Sergeant but I need you at the base. You've got more combat experience than anyone else in the unit and I need you keeping an eye on the junior officers and NCO's, not baby-sitting me and a librarian."  
The battle-hardened sergeant nodded slowly, "I understand ma'am." Sergeant Judge saluted. "I'll see you back at HQ."  
"Take care Tom," Colonel O'Connell said as she returned the salute. The sergeant spun on his heels and walked out of the house.  
"What was that all about?" Giles asked as he returned the headset to its cradle on the radio.  
"Oh nothing, just some military stuff." O'Connell lightly replied.  
Giles frowned, "Colonel O'Connell, Anne, what is it?"  
"I already told you, it's nothing," O'Connell walked over to a satchel Sergeant Judge had left behind. "Come on, you can give me a hand with this."  
"With what?""  
"If it's just going to be the two of us then we'd better make the front lawn as deadly as possible." O'Connell hefted the satchel, "This goes a long way towards evening the odds."  
Giles nodded, "I understand, what do you want me to do?"  
-Sri Lanka-  
Buffy pressed herself against a fallen tree as bullets landed all around here. "Next time Buffy don't taunt the ancient evil when it threatens to arms its minions with guns," she chided herself. "How are you doing Will?" She called out to Willow who was crouched behind a tree several feet away.

"Oh ok I suppose, but I've decided I don't like guns," the witch replied.

"Buffy!" Jack Bristow shouted. "Can you lay down some covering fire?" Jack was hunkered behind a boulder with Mr. Gupta.

"I pretty much can't move over here," Buffy replied.

"Hold on," Willow said, "Let me try something...you'd better close your eyes," she added. Willow held out her hands and a brilliant ball of light shot out of them. The orb streaked across the jungle and exploded in a blinding flash in front of the people shooting at them.

The glare from the explosion had barely faded when Jack jumped out from behind his cover and stormed the enemy position. Buffy rested her machine gun on the fallen tree trunk and fired into the trees in front of Jack. She released the trigger when the CIA agent disappeared into the line of trees. Buffy stood up and walked towards the tree line as the sound of gunfire slowly died out.

"Agent Bristow?" Buffy called out.

Jack emerged from the tree line, "I'm fin Buffy. Come on, we still have a lot of ground to cover before it gets dark."

"Uhm, I hate to sound like a broken record, but where's Vaughn?" Buffy asked.

"I haven't seen him since our last rest break," Willow added.

"He possibly just got cut off from the rest of us by the ambush," Jack said.

"Isn't that what he's supposed to be preventing?" Buffy observed.

"Vaughn is under a lot of stress, he and Sydney have been...seeing each other," Jack explained.

"They're dating? Aww, how sweet," Willow exclaimed.

"Vaughn is probably just pushing a little too hard to get to the temple it's easy to do and very understandable."

"Well how about from now on I take point," Buffy said, "I want to get home to Sunnydale in one piece."

As Buffy and Jack argued neither one noticed Mr. Gupta slip off into the jungle. The elderly man deftly searched the jungle floor until he found the prone form of Micheal Vaughn. r. Gupta reached out and shook the CIA agent's shoulder. "Mr. Vaughn wake up please." Mr. Gupta looked around to see if anyone else was nearby. When he saw that one one was he placed his hand over Vaughn's forehead. A small gold spark lept from his hand into Vaughn's head.

Vaughn's eyes snapped open and he took a deep, gasping breath. He sat up and looked around. "What happened?" He asked.

"Relax Mr. Vaughn, I found you lying here unconscious. Do you have any idea what happened to you?"

"No, not really," Vaughn replied as he stood up. "I was walking down the path when I heard something. I went to investigate and then nothing."

"I suspect this had something to do with it." Mr. Gupta reached down and picked up a fist-sized rock, the dull red sheen of blood glistened in the sunlight. "So you were talking to the First when one of its minions jumped you, I see."

Vaughn jerked back from Mr. Gupta. "What do you mean?"

"The First, it's been talking to you for as long as you've been in the jungle. Let me guess, it's taken the form of a dead loved one?"

"How could you possibly know that?"

"Simple deductive logic really, both Buffy and Willow have faced the First before, so they are already on guard against it. Mr. Bristow is so totally focused on saving his daughter that he will ignore everything that stands in his way. That leaves you Mr. Vaughn as the weak link."

"Hey, I'm just as willing to do whatever it takes to get Sydney back as Jack Bristow," Vaughn protested.

"I never said you weren't Mr. Vaughn. It's obvious how much you care about her, but you also have ghosts in your past do you not?" Mr. Gupta stared into Vaughn's eyes. "Powerful ghosts indeed. I can see why the First selected you."

"I didn't do anything wrong ok? I'd never do anything to jeopardize this mission."

"Easy Mr. Vaughn, i know that, but why didn't you tell us?"

"Because Jack wouldn't trust me, he'd say I'd been compromised. He'd order me home, or worse."

"The First is not something you can fight on your own Mr. Vaughn, thought at the same time it is something you have to face by yourself."

Vaughn frowned, "What do you mean?"

"The First exploits whatever personal demons haunt you, and the only person who can overcome those demons is you." The two men stared at each other for a moment. "Now come, the others will be getting worried."

"You won't tell them about the First, will you?"

Mr. Gupta shook his head, "No, that is something for you to say, it is not my place."

Vaughn nodded, "Thank you."

"However, I suspect that if Mr. Bristow were to find out on his own your life would not be worth much."

Vaughn smiled, "That's only if we don't get Sydney back, and based on what I've heard if we don't get Sydney back my problems will be the least of our worries."

-Sunnydale-

"The coast looks clear," Xander told the other, "come on." Xander shifted back behind the tombstone he was using for cover and waved Anya, Kennedy, Andrew, and Sergeant Hickman forward. They ran across an open expanse of ground and came to a stop behind a mausoleum.

"I'll make sure the crypt is clear," the sergeant told the group. "Watch my back." Sergeant Hickman eased the door open and slipped inside the mausoleum.

"Hey Anya, remember that time Buffy got hurt and we went patrolling with Riley?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Did you ever think we'd be the oens with the guns doing the cool military moves?"

"No, and frankly I don't see the point. It's not like it's hard to outthink a zombie," Anya pointed out. "Besides, I don't like guns."

"I'd be more than happy to take it off your hands," Andrew offered.

Anya pointed her shotgun at Andrew, "Forget it."

"Tut, tut pet, never poitn a shotgun at someone unless you mean to shoot it," Spike said. The group turned and saw the vampire standing behind them.

"Spike, what are you doing here?" Xander asked.

"Same as you I suppose, trying to find a way to get rid of these. Say where did you get those lovely toys? I didn't think guns were your thing."

"Initiative gave them to us," Xander replied.

"Can I have one? Killing zombies is boring work."

"Here, have mine," Anya said. She handed Spike her shotgun and ammunition bag.

"Hey why does Spike get a gun!" Andrew protested.

"Because," Anya replied.

"Because why?"

"Just because," Anya insisted. Andrew did not look satisfied with the answer, but did not press the issue.

"Thanks for this," Spike said as he started to walk away.

"Hey Spike, where are you going?" Xander asked.

"What, you thought I'd hang around the lot of you just because you gave me a boomstick? Yeah right, soldier boys make me nervous, remember." Spike walked off into the night before Xander had a chance to reply.

"Pleasant guy," Will commented.

"Being a vampire will do that," Anya noted.

"That guy's a vampire?" Will asked in disbelief.

"Of course he's a vampire, why else would he be asleep in the middle of the afternoon?"

"I don't know, I just thought he was a rock musician. Wait, if he's a vampire..."

"Why is he living in Buffy's house, why didn't he try to kill us and why did I give him a gun?" Anya suggested.

"Well...yes," Will admitted.

"I'm going to check on Sergeant Hickman, he's been in there a long time," Xander abruptly said.

"What's the rush?" Anya asked.

"The story of Spike, aka William the Bloody is a tragic one, but one that reflects the redemptive natur of love..." Andrew began to say.

"That's why," Xander told Anya before slipping inside the crypt.

"Spike was known as the Slayer's slayer, a ruthless killer who delighted in torture. It was only when he first laid eyes on Buffy that his rampaging heart was softened."

"What?" Anya exclaimed, "That's not even remotely right. Look Will don't listen to him, all you need to know is that Spike's a vampire who doesn't kill people...anymore...unless he's been brainwashed."

Will rubbed his temples, "Forget I asked."

Will was cut off by the crypt door flying open and a vampire with Xander clinging to its back ran out into the cemetary. "Somebody get a stake!" Xander shouted, "I can't hold on for much longer."

Anya calmly walked up to the ramapging vampire and held out a stake. The vampire exploded in a cloud of dust and without any support Xander fell to the ground, "That worked out better than I imagined," Anya commented.

"What happened?" Will asked.

Xander gingerly picked himself up off the ground. "There was a vampire in the crypt, it jumped the sergeant and I jumped it while it was snacking on him."

"Is he ok?" Andrew asked.

Xander ran back into the crypt without replying. The rest of the group followed Xander inside where they found him helping the sergeant hold his hand to his neck. "Kennedy look in the sergeant's pack for a medical kit." Xander nodded at an olive green backpack lying on the floor.

Kennedy ran over to the backpack and started rummaging through it. "I found one!" She exclaimed.

"Good now come over here and put it on," Xander instructed. Kennedy waited for Xander to move his hands then slapped the large bandage onto the sergeant's wound. Xander took a deep breath. "Ok Andrew, Kennedy, I need you two to take the sergeant to the hospital."

"Are you sure?" Kennedy asked.

"He'll die if he stays here," Xander explained.

Kennedy sighed, "Alright, Andrew give me a hand with him." She slung her shotgun over her shoulder and picked up the fallen soldier. The trio limped out of the crypt, leaving behind Anya, Xander and Will.

"And then there were three," Will commented.

Xander picked up the sergeant's backpack and gun. "Come one, we've got an orb to find."

"Are you nuts?" Anya shouted. "The three of us against all those zombies?"

"Do you have a better idea?" Xander asked Anya.

"Well...no," Anya admitted. "Fine, let's just get this over with."

"When we get out of this remind me to hurt my mechanic badly," Will said as they walked out of the crypt.

"So where are we going oh fearless leader?" Anya asked Xander.

Suddenly a brilliant gree light blazed into the sky, casting a weird green glow over the graveyard. "I'd say that way looks promising," Xander said as he pointed towards the pillar of green light.

"Lucky break," Anya groused. "If the orb hadn't gained additional strength..."

"And you consider that lucky?" Will asked Anya.

"Sure, at least now we know where the orb is," Anya explained. "Of course now there will be more zombies."

"How can there be more zombies? Just how many people have died in this town anyway?"

"A lot," Xander replied. "Now come on, let's go check that light out."

"You know they always say don't go into the light." Anya grumbled as they crept across the cemetary.

"Oddly enough that adivce only holds true for near death experiences," Xander noted. "And when you're fighting vampires, or looking for evil, zombie-making orbs you want to go to the light."

"Learn something new everyday," Will quipped.

They continued towards the center of the cemetary until Xander heard the umistakeable sound of zombies, "Everybody down!" he ordered. The group ducked behidn a collection of tombstones and watched as a large group of zombies shuffled past on their way out of the cemetary.

"What the hell was that?" Will demanded after the zombies were safely past.

"That was me hoping like hell that Giles is no where near Buffy's house," Xander said. "Come on, let's go bust up an orb."

-Sri Lanka-

Sydney stared out of her cell window at the fading sunlight. She sighed, she had not heard from her neighbour since their last conversation and Sydney was starting to worry about the elderly farmer who had befriended her. She watched as the light waned from yellow to orange.

"It always does that you know," Danny said from behind her.

"What?" Sydney asked. The shock of seeing her dead fiance's face had finally worn off, almost. 

"The sun, it always falls before the night."

Sydney stared at the evil spirit. "But the sun always returns the next day," she replied.

"True, of course you don't have that luxury," the First said. "You'll be dead you see."

"Vaughn will save me," Sydney insisted.

"You still think your friends are going to save you?" Danny's form suddenly morphed into Buffy's. "Tut, tut, you didn't think they could go up against the Big Bad and live did you?"

Sydney took a step back, "You're lying, I've seen you look like a lot of people, this doesn't prove anything."

"You don't pay very close attention to details do you? I can only take the form of someone who's already dead."

"Fine, then let's see you wear Vaughn's face," Sydney demanded. "You can't can you?"

"Do you really think your precious Vaughn is capable of saving you?" The First sneered.

"Of course I do, because he'll do whatever he has to. I know he will because I would do the same for him."

"I wouldn't count on it, especially after a chat with daddy dearest." The First morphed into the spector of Vaughn's father. "I've been having nice long chats with my boy about all sorts of things, but your mother most of all."

"You son of a bitch!" Sydney hissed. "How dare you do that!"

The First shifted back into Danny, "I've got news for you Sydn, I'm evil. I'll do whatever the hell I want."

"You are so not going to win," Sydney defiantly said.

"Talk is cheap and from where I'm standing you're the one locked in a cell."

"But you're the one with the losing record," Sydney shot back.

"Not this time, because you're going to help me."

"Killing me doesn't count as me helping you."

"But that's the best part, you are. Don't get me wrong, you are going to die. But that's only the first step. What i'm after is your soul, that pure warrior soul of yours. It is what's needed to allow the demon slumbering under this temple to come back to life...in you."

"You're going to kill me so a demon can possess me?"

"Not quite, but close enough. Your soul is needed to act as a focus for the demon to reamin in this world, a battery if you will. Your body will still be technically alive, but you won't be in control."

"Are you finished with the long-winded exposition yet?" Sydney asked.

"I believe I am, why?"

"I just wanted to know when I could escape," Sydney replied.

"And just how are you planning to do that?"

"That would be telling now wouldn't it?" Sydney said with a smile.

"Like i've already said, talk is cheap."

"A couple of your robed thugs are going to walk through that door. When they do I am going to kick their ass and there isn't a damn thing you can do about it."

"Oh there's not huh?"

"Just watch me," Sydney confidently said.

"This should be interesting," the First folded its arms across its chest.

The cell door opened and three of the First's followers walked into the cell. One was holding a set of manacles while the other two carried long knives.

"Hi there, I gather you're expecting I'm going to go quietly?" She asked the Bringers.

"She going to try to escape you idiots. Grab her!" The First ordered.

The two Bringers with knives reached out for Sydney. Before they touched her however she grabbed their outstretched arms and swung them together. The Bringers staggered from the force of the impact and Sydney used the opening to lay out the third Bringer with a roundhouse kick. As the Bringer fell to the ground it lost its grip on the manacles it was holding, tossing them into the air.

Sydney grabbed the manacles and spun them around her head, building up momentum. She whipped the manacles at one of the two remaining Bringers; they connected with the Bringer's head with a sickening crunch. Sydney dove for the dead Bringer's knife and came up with it in time to block the final Bringer's attack. She ducked the Bringer's next slash and she drover her knife up into the Bringer's chest. She twisted the knife to maximize the damage done by the blade. The Bringer slumped to the ground, blood pumping out an already dead body.

Sydney reached down and picked up a key ring that had falled onto the floor. "Well what do you know, I kicked your guards' asses. By now." Sydney opened the cell and ran out into the hall.

Sydney walked a short distance down the hall before she remember, "Mr. Sanjay!" She exclaimed. Sydney turned around, determined to free the kindly old man who had kept her spirits up.

Unfortunately a large number of the First's guards came running from the direction of Mr. Sanjay's cell. Sydney cursed, there was no way she could take on the entier group. She sprinted down the hall and rounded a corner. She caught sight of another door and ducked into the room beyond it.

"You're not going to escape you know," the First said from behind Sydney.

"Well I'm not going to let you use me as a demonic battery," Sydney countered.

"But are you really willing to do what it will take to keep your soul away from me? There's only one way out and you know it."

"Yeah, it's called the front door," Sydney said as she yanked the door open and sprinted down the hallway.

Sydney ran through the temple trying to find a way out. She did everything she could to avoid encountering large numbers of guards. After a while she came to relaize that they were hearding her somewhere. She stopped running and pressed herself tightly into a niche in the wall. A pair of guards came running down the hall. Sydney waited until they had almost run past her before she struck. She ran into the guard closest to her and drove her knife into its neck. The force of her attack drove both Sydney and the dying guard into the remaining guard, knocking it off its feet. Sydney withdrew her knife and slashed the other guard's throat.

After she was satisfied that both the guards were dead Sydney ran back down the hall the way she came. "If they think they can herd me they've got another thing coming," she muttered to herself.

Sydney also slowed her pace. She realized she was rushing, and the easiest way to get killed in her line of work was to rush what you were doing. By sacrificing some speed Sydney was now less likely to blunder into an ambush. She chided herself for not realizing that fact sooner.

The hallway she was in eventually lead her to the large alter room that doubled as her torture chamber. Sydney suppressed a shudder at the sight of the stone table in the center of the room. She carefully looked around the chamber but did not see any sign of the guards. Something about the room felt off to Sydney so she crept along the wall of the room and stayed clear of the table in the middle of the chamber.

Sydney reached the other side of the chamber without incident. She breathed a sight of relief as she walked into the hallway and right into something. She looked up and saw that she had walked into a man wearing all black and a priest's collar.

"Why hello there little lady," the man said in a heavy Southern accent. "Now what's a pretty young thing like yourself doing in a place like this?"

Sydney slowly backed away from the man, there was something about him that made Sydney's blood run cold. "I've been kidnapped," she told the man, "can you tell me how to get out of here?"

"Why should I do that?" The man asked. "It's obvious why you're here, look at you, backing away from a man of the cloth like that. You're dirty, offensive in the eyes of God. You are here to be cleansed, scourged of all sin, and as a man of the cloth I can't let you run away from your holy duty."

"I cannot let that happen!" Mr. Sanjay said from behind Sydney. Sydney turned and saw the elder man striding across the chamber.

"Mr. Sanjay no, I can handle this," Sydney told the Indian man.

"No dear girl, you cannot. Run, I shall hold this beast off. The exit is not far down that hall."

"But..." Sydney protested.

"No, this is is what I must do, whatever happens is what was meant to be. I shall not shirk from my duty to protect you!" He held out his hand and a bolt of energy shot forth and struck the evil priest, knocking him backwards.

Sydney ran towards the exit Mr. Sanjay directed her to, but before she left the room she stopped and turned around. She could know leave Mr. Sanjay behind.

"I know what you are and what you serve," Mr. Sanjay told the priest, "and you will not succeed."

"Really now, and why should I believe the word of a heathen like yourself?"

"Because I am a follower of Vishnu and I carry his sacred fire." Mr. Sanjay shot another energy blast at the priest.

The priest deflected the energy bolt like a person swatting away a fly. "That's a fancy title, but I serve the one true God; everything else is as motes of dust in a hurricane next to it." The priest grabbed Mr. Sanjay head with both hands and twisted with such force that he spun the old man's head around.

Sydney watched in horror as the old man's lifeless body fell to the floor. "You bastard!" she screamed and changed the priest.

"This is what I'm talking about," the priest said as he dodged Sydney's attack. "You know you need to be here, why else would you stay?"

"To make sure you pay for killing an innocent man," Sydney resolutely replied.

"He was far from innocent. He opposed God's will, and you cannot do that without paying the price." The prist grabbed Sydney by the hair and delivered a powerful backhanded slap that knocked Sydney out.

"Amen," the First said as Buffy, appearing next to the priest.

"Hallelujah," the priest replied. "I assume this is yours?" he asked, indicating Sydney.

"It is, now what are you doing here?"

"I found him in Vienna. I wanted to let you know personally..."

The First nodded, "Good, now get out of here. The Slayer is about to make an appearance."

"The Slayer?"

"Yes, the Slayer, but now isn't the time for you to meet her; you're not ready."

"I think I know when I'm ready," the priest bristled.

"You think you can question my judgement?"

"No, of course not, I am your humble serveant."

"That's what I thought. Now get out of here, there's plenty for you to do elsewhere, and don't worry, the demon is just a tool, you will still be my most trusted serveant."

"I wasn't worried, I serve you, and concerns over my place by your throne is pride, and pride is a sin."

"You are such a bood boy, and by this time tomorrow you'll have a new playmate."

"I can hardly wait," the priest replied with an evil grin. He picked Sydney up and place her on the alter in the middle of the room before walking out of the chamber.

To Be Continued 


	7. Chapter 6

God Shuffled His Feet: An Alias/Buffy Crossover  
By: Sam Lincoln

Rating PG-13

Summary: An ancient evil stalks Agent Sydney Bristow

Spoilers: General spoilers for the current seasons of Alias, and Buffy, but nothing specific to any storyline.

Disclaimer: All characters from _Buffy_ and _Angel_ are property of Mutant Enemy. All characters from _Alias_ are property of Bad Robot and Touchstone Television. All characters are used without permission and no infringement is intended.

God Shuffled His Feet: Chapter 6

-Sunnydale-

"I see about ten zombies guarding the door," Xander told Anya and Will.

"That means we're outnumbered almost three to one!" Anya protested.

"But don't forget, we've got these," Will said as he patted his shotgun.

"Exactly, so here's what we're going to do..." Xander's voice dropped to a whisper as he laid out his plan.

A short while later Anya stood up and walked towards the zombies. "Oh look, why it's a tasty juicy brain, just waiting to get eaten," she said in a flat monotone. The zombies saw Anya and began shuffling towards her. "Oh no, zombies are after me, whatever shall I do?" Anya turned and jogged off, leading the zombies away from the door.

Xander seized the opportunity. He rushed the now unguarded door and burst into the crypt. "Well that was...oh crap," Xander said as he ran into a room filled with zombies. "I guess it's time to go out guns blazing," he noted as he lined up a zombie and fired his flechette gun. The zombie's chest exploded in a cloud of pink. "Whoa, cool!" Xander exclaimed before continued to fight for his life.

Anya ran through the cemetery with the zombie guards on her heels. "Ok, that's it, if I get out of this alive I'm moving to someplace quiet and boring, like New York City." As Anya ran she saw Will crouched behind a tombstone. "Are you going to shoot those things?" She demanded as she skidded to a halt.

"Just waiting to see the whites of their eyes...if they still have them," Will replied as he stood up and took aim at the zombies.

"No Scarface jokes, please," Anya said as she pressed herself against a tombstone. She placed her hands over her ears when Will began firing.

Xander looked around the room to see if anything was still moving. He carefully slotted a fresh clip into his gun and then put a round into the head of every zombie corpse that still had one. "Better safe than sorry," he muttered to himself.

Satisfied that he wasn't going to be ambushed by any of the vanquished zombies Xander set about examining the crypt. He knew this was the place the had seen the green light, but there was no sign of the orb that Xander could see. He was searching for a secret door when he heard a sound behind him.

Xander spun around, ready to fight off another zombie attack when he saw Anya and Will enter the crypt. "Would it have really been so hard to say 'hey Xander'?" he asked the pair.

"Oh sorry, hey Xander," Anya said.

"Did you have any problems?"

"None once GI Joe over here figured out you have to hit the zombie in order to kill it."

"How would you know?" Will shot back, "You spent the whole time hiding behind a tombstone."

"Careful there Will, Anya gets her emotions mixed up, she might try to have sex with you right here."

"Eww, not here," Anya protested. "Although it is nicer than your parent's basement."

"Very funny, now give me a hand finding the door to the rest of the crypt," Xander said.

"You mean the one over there?" Anya asked with a sigh.

"Where now?" Xander asked.

"Over there," Anya repeated and pointed towards a wall.

"I'm not seeing a door," Xander said.

"Me either," Will added.

"Men," Anya huffed, "It's as plain as day." She walked over to the ornately decorated wall and turned one of the gargoyle heads. A section of the wall separated and swung backwards revealing a passageway.

"How did you know that was there?" Will asked in amazement.

"Simple," Anya replied. "I looked. Now are you two going to stand there gawking or are we going to deal with that orb?"

Xander and will cautiously walked into the hallway with their guns are the ready. Anya followed close behind and peered over the shoulders of Xander and Will to get a better look of what was ahead of them. As they walked down the hall the walls started to pulse with a greenish glow. The glow grew in intensity as they went forward.

"This must be the place," Will noted.

"Stay frosty," Xander cautioned, "There could be zombies anywhere."

"Stay frosty? What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Anya demanded.

"Stay sharp," Will explained. "It's from the movie Aliens. Just don't do Hudson, ok Xander."

Xander smiled, "No way man."

"Would you two shut up and get moving!" Anya snapped, "We're in the middle of zombie central, this is no time to discuss movies."

"Oh, right."

"Sorry."

The trio continued down the hall until they came to another door. Xander motioned for Will to aim his gun at the opening before reaching for the door handle. Anya reached down and snatched the pistol tucked in Xander's belt. Xander looked at Anya in surprise. She simply shrugged as she flipped off the safety and pointed the pistol at the door. Xander nodded then opened the door.

They were not met by waves of zombies, instead a cloud of smoke wafted out of the room. Anya took a step back, coughing violently, "What is that awful smell?"

Will sniffed the air, "Marijuana, some zombie is rocking the ganja."

"Who'd be smoking pot at a time like this?" Anya demanded.

Will shrugged, "Doesn't seem like a bad idea to me."

"Let's go find out," Xander said, trying to head off an argument. He raised his gun to his shoulder and entered the room. 

The room itself was small, with no windows. The only illumination came from the glowing green orb in the center of the room. Sitting next to the orb was a pair of giggling teenagers. 

"Dude, dude," one of the teens said. "We totally have to get some Doritos."

"Yeah, you're so right dude, let's have the zombies raid the Quick Stop."

"Stoners?" Anya shouted. "Our lives were put in danger by a lame pair of Bill and Ted wanna-bes? I'll kill them myself!" She raised her pistol and pointed it at the pair.

Xander caught her arm. "Anya relax, they were probably under the control of the First."

"At least we've found the orb," Will noted.

"Make sure Beavis and Butthead don't try anything," Xander told Anya and Will. He walked over to the orb and picked it up.

It was at that point the two teen aged necromancers finally noticed Anya, Will and Xander. "Hey!" One of the teens protested. "Put that down!"

Anya and Will pointed their guns at the teens' heads. "Oh please try something, I would love to have an excuse to blow your brains all over that wall," Anya threatened.

Xander hurled the orb at the opposite wall. Upon impact the orb shattered in a brilliant flash and sent out a shock wave of white light that knocked everyone in the room onto the ground. The two teens were the first to pick themselves up and headed for the door.

"Not so fast," Anya said sharply. "You two over here," she motioned the teens away from the door with her pistol. "Now start talking, what in your drug addled minds made you think summoning a zombie army was a good thing?"

"Well a couple of days ago Ray and I were smoking up when Ray's brother Hal showed up and said it'd be cool to burn the Slayer by summoning all these zombies."

"And you agreed?" Will asked in disbelief.

"Well yeah, zombies are cool Besides, Hal's dead and stuff, so you got to do what the dead want, otherwise they haunt you and stuff."

"Wait, your brother's dead?" Xander asked the boy named Ray.

Ray shrugged, "Yeah."

"Didn't it seem a little odd to you that your brother wanted you to destroy the town?"

"Not really," the other teen said, Hal never liked it in Sunnydale. He was trying to runaway when he got killed by some gang or something."

Xander looked at Anya, "What do you think, the First found a couple of nihilistic teenagers and convinced them to do all this?"

"That doesn't sound too hard to believe, I doubt these two have a brain cell between to think up a stunt like this," Anya agreed.

"So what do we do with them?" Will asked.

"I say we lock them up in a room with their zombie creations and met out some ironic justice," Anya suggested.

"We destroyed all the zombies, remember?" Xander said. "Besides, we wouldn't do that even if there were."

"Oh pooh, when I was in the vengeance business I loved dishing out poetically ironic deaths like that."

"But you're not in vengeance business anymore," Xander pointed out. "Ok you two butt monkeys," Xander told the two teens. "Summoning zombie armies is not cool, and you're lucky I don't let Anya have her way with you."

"Alright," the talkative teen said, "bring her on, I could use some good lovin."

"I know roughly twelve thousand four hundred fifty six ways to cause a painful lingering death, and that's just with a spork," Anya informed the boy.

"Damn, no need to be so hostile."

"If I ever catch you two nimrods channeling the dark arts again I'm going to give you to Anya, and then the Slayer will get whatever is left over. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes sir," the two teens stammered.

"Ok then get out of here, and stop taking advice from dead people!" Xander shouted after the teens as they ran out of the crypt.

"Swear to god Ray, I think the whole town's against us," they heard the loud mouthed teen say to his friend.

"Think they'll listen to you?" Will asked.

Xander shrugged, "Probably not, but at least we stopped the zombies."

"Yeah, we did, didn't we?" Will paused. "I need a drink."

"Fine, but before you go shower in Champaign we have to check on Giles, he might be hurt...or worse," Anya said.

Xander's expression sobered. "Right, Giles, let's go." The trio walked out of the crypt, leaving behind the shards of the ruined orb.

-Sri Lanka-

"So that's the temple?" Buffy asked no one in particular, "How appropriate."

The temple was constructed out of black rock so polished that it looked like it was carved out of a single piece of stone. Threatening looking stone figures were engraved into the sides of the temple. The failing light of the sun cast a blood red glow over the temple. It radiated evil in a way Buffy had never seen. The jungle itself seemed afraid of the temple. There was no vegetation surrounding the structure, though Buffy could not tell if that was due to mortal hands or the supernatural influence of the temple.

Jack stared at the temple through a pair of binoculars. "Ok, there are guards on the parapets but I don't see any patrols on the ground. Normally I'd say wait for nightfall..."

"But we don't have that luxury," Buffy said.

"Precisely, so here's what I want to have happen. Buffy, Willow, you're coming with me. We're going to charge the main gate to create a diversion for Vaughn. Vaughn I want you to slip in there and get Sydney out."

Vaughn nodded, "Understood."

"Mr. Gupta, what can you tell us about the layout inside the temple?" Jack asked.

"There are two entrances, here and here," Mr. Gupta said as he sketched a diagram in the dirt. The ritual will take place in the main chamber. Luckily for us all paths in the temple lead to this room. I would also like to point out that there is a spot in the main chamber where a man can observe the whole of the room without being seen."

"Can you get Vaughn into that room?" Jack asked the old Hindi.

Mr. Gupta nodded, "I believe I can, yes."

"Good, Vaughn, get set up in that spot and snipe the hell out of them."

"With pleasure," Vaughn replied.

"So we're still charging in guns blazing?" Buffy asked.

Jack nodded, "It will draw attention away from Vaughn. Plus given the rate we've gone through these Bringers I don't expect that there will be much opposition."

"You'd be surprised," Willow muttered.

"That's what I always try not to be," Jack replied. "So stay sharp, be on the look out for traps and possible ambushes. Never run off, we're most effective as a single unit. Our objective is the central chamber, ignore everything else."

"It's a shame I didn't think to bring an axe, or a sword," Buffy mused. "I'd much rather have one of those for close quarters work."

"Firepower remains the key to victory," Jack said sternly, "I don't want to throw that away."

"Oh alright, I can't wait to get home and take some vamps the old school way."

"But I thought you liked the gun," Willow said.

"That was before I had to lug the damn thing through all this jungle. Mr. Pointy is way lighter. Besides, everything in my wardrobe is geared towards stakes. I don't have anything this goes with."

Jack glared at the two women, "Are you finished?" He icily asked.

"Are we done Will?" Buffy asked Willow.

"I think we are," Willow confirmed.

"Ok, we're done," Buffy told Jack, "We just like to make with the funny to avoid getting the Wiggins before a big fight...and I'll shut up now."

"Thank-you," Jack told Buffy, "Vaughn start getting in position, we'll give you a half-hour head start."

Vaughn nodded, "I'm on my way." He had exchanged his jungle camo for a black ninja suit and silenced sniper rifle.

As Vaughn and Mr. Gupta walked towards the temple Mr. Gupta tugged on Vaughn's sleeve. "Mr. Vaughn, come this way, I know of a secret passage into the temple we can use."

"What? Why didn't you say something sooner?"

"Because there is no way the entire group could make use of the tunnel. Besides, Mr. Bristow's plan is a good one and what does it matter how we gain entrance into the temple?"

Vaughn mulled this over for a few moments before shrugging his shoulders. "I suppose you're right. So where is this tunnel?"

Mr. Gupta lead Vaughn around the temple back into the jungle. They continued through the jungle until Mr. Gupta came to a stop in front of an overgrown cave entrance. It was so well hidden that Vaughn was sure he would have walked right past it. 

Mr. Gupta pulled back the vines in front of the cave and motioned for Vaughn to enter. "You first Mr. Vaughn."

"Why me, you're the person who knows the way," Vaughn said. He suddenly was worried about being lead into a trap.

"Quite true, but you have the night vision goggles, I do not."

Vaughn adjusted his grip on his pistol before nodding. "Alright, stay close." He told Mr. Gupta as he entered the cave. "I don't like the look of this place," he observed as they crept through the dark cave. The supports holding the ceiling up looked rotten and sagged under the weight of the rock above them.

"I suspect it's been years since anyone has walked through this tunnel."

"Or maybe more recently," Vaughn said as he held out his hand in warning. "There's a tripwire in front of us." He examined the thin filament of wire. It ran between two of the supports and connected to a pair of small detonators attached to both posts. "If we trip this," Vaughn whispered to Mr. Gupta, "It will case a cave in."

"Then we'd better not trip it. You first Mr. Vaughn,"

Vaughn gingerly stepped over the wire and continued down the cave a short distance before turning to watch Mr. Gupta negotiate the trap. Vaughn looked on in horror as Mr. Gupta's walking stick dragged over the tripwire, pulling it out in almost slow motion. There was a series of soft pops followed almost immediately by the roar of the ceiling falling in. The cave sent up a prodigious cloud of dust that left Vaughn blinded.

When the dust cleared Vaughn saw that the path leading out was completely blocked. A nervous glance upwards confirmed that the supports over him were still holding. Once Vaughn verified his own safety he began checking on Mr. Gupta.

By some stroke of luck the old man had jumped clear of most of the cave in, but his feet where caught under the rubble. Vaughn started to clear the debris. "Mr. Gupta, are you ok?"

"I'm fine Mr. Vaughn, but you shouldn't stop to help me. Time is short, you have to be ready when Mr. Bristow makes his move."

"But what about you?"

"I will be fine, provided you stop the First from destroying the world!" Mr. Gupta snapped. "Follow the cave until it comes to a door, go left and walk fifty yards. The secret room is to your right, push the third stone from the bottom to open the door. Now go, we are running out of time."

"We'll come back for you after we rescue Sydney," Vaughn promised.

"Yes of course you will, I have no doubt about that, but the world does need saving first." Mr. Gupta watched Vaughn run down the cave. He waited until Vaughn was out of sight before pulling himself out of the rock pile. He sat on top of one of the boulders in the lotus position and closed his eyes. "Good luck Mr. Vaughn you shall need it."

Jack checked his watch then picked up his radio. "Vaughn are you in position?" He heard a pair of clicks on the radio that signaled Vaughn was ready. "Understood we're on our way." He turned to face Buffy and Willow. "Vaughn is ready, we're moving in."

"Did he say if he saw Sydney?" Willow asked.

Jack shook his head, "He didn't respond verbally. He probably didn't want to reveal his position." Jack checked the clip in his M16. "Let's go save my daughter."

"Right behind you Mr. B," Buffy said. "Err, sorry, I forgot."

"Uhm, how are we doing this now?" Willow asked.

"It's very simple. Shoot everything that moves that isn't Sydney, Vaughn or Mr. Gupta."

"I can remember that," Willow decided.

Jack raised his rifle to his shoulder, "Are you two ready?" Buffy and Willow nodded. Jack took aim at the Bringers standing watch over the front entrance. He reached forward and pulled the trigger on the under barrel grenade launcher. The grenade landed between the two Bringers and exploded on impact. "Go!" Jack shouted as he ran towards the entrance. Buffy and Willow followed close on his heels.

They entered the temple and found a knot of Bringers running towards them intent on investigating the explosion. This time Buffy needed no prompting and she opened fire on the servants of the First. They fell down and none stood back up. Jack charged past the carnage without giving it a moment's thought. He fired at every hooded figure he saw and did not stop to check if his rounds hit their mark.

"Agent Bristow!" Buffy shouted. "Slow down!" She and Willow were advancing more methodically to make sure they were not hemmed in.

"There's no time. We'll just fight our way out after we get Sydney," Jack shouted back as he pushed on. 

A burst of gunfire slamming into the wall next to him did cause Jack to stop however. He dove for cover and returned fire. "Buffy, Willow, get under cover!" Jack shouted down the hall as AK-47 armed Bringers poured into the hall.

"See this is why I don't use gun," Buffy grumbled as she pushed Willow down a side passage. "Because the bad guys then arm themselves and you get caught up in a big arms race that nobody can win." She leaned around the corner to return fire with her SAW when a stray round slammed into the gun and tore it from her hands. "Well crap," Buffy commented as she looked down at the ruined machine gun.

Willow handed Buffy her MP-5. "Here, take this one, I haven't fired it once. Guns give me the wigs, I just didn't have the heart to tell Agent Bristow."

Buffy accepted the sub-machine gun from Willow. "Thanks Will." She glanced down the hall. "I wonder how Agent Bristow's going to get out of this one." She watched as Jack fired another grenade down the hall. The resulting explosion scattered the resistance and the CIA agent picked himself up and charged into the smoke. "Well that got the job done," Buffy quipped as she followed Jack father into the temple.

Vaughn examined the alter room through the scope of his sniper rifle. The room Mr. Gupta had sent him to was in actuality nothing more than a ledge that overlooked the chamber below. Still, it afforded Vaughn as good a view of the room below as he could have hoped for. Unfortunately what he saw tore at his soul. Sydney lay strapped to a stone alter in the middle of the room. The robed servants of the First stood around her holding lighted candles and observing the whole scene was Buffy. Vaughn finally convinced himself that it was merely the First playing another mind game.

The distinctive sound of a grenade exploding signaled the start of Jack's assault. Vaughn watched and waited to see how the First would respond. There were too many bad guys below for Vaughn to simply open fire. He couldn't be sure he'd kill them all before his location was found or Sydney was killed. He watched as the First ordered some of the Bringers out of the chamber. Vaughn turned his gun sights on the Bringer closest to Sydney.

"Hello son," his dead father's voice said in his ear. "What are you doing here? Oh, I see, trying to save the day."

"Go away, you're not my father," Vaughn growled. He kept his gaze firmly on his target.

"That's really a semantic argument at this point son. You see my Bringers are about to release an awesome evil that will lay waste to everything, and do you know the only way to stop it?" 

"Yeah, I do," Vaughn replied.

"No, I don't think you do. Your little rescue party is too late, all that has to be done is shed a little bit of Miss Bristow's blood. You only have one choice, kill the girl."

"What?" Vaughn exclaimed.

"If she dies before the ritual is complete then the demon cannot rise. So tell me son, can you kill all the Bringers before one of them can cut Ms. Bristow?"

"You're lying."

"Think about it logically son, it's the only way."

Vaughn stared through the rifle's scope at the alter. He knew that there were situations Sydney would want him to shoot, but was this one of those situations?

"If you don't kill her she'll be trapped inside the demon, suffering a thousand deaths but never dying. You'd be doing her a favor."

Vaughn felt a drop of sweat run down his forehead. In the distance he could hear the sounds of a ferocious gun battle but it remained in the distance. Vaughn let his sight settle on Sydney. He stared at her prone form for a long moment before realizing that was no decision to make. Vaughn took a deep breath, lined up his shot, and pulled the trigger.

Buffy peered around the corner she was hiding behind and fired a burst from her MP-5 at the Bringers that held the other end of the hall. "We don't have time for this," Buffy muttered to herself. She looked across the hall at Jack and mimed spraying the hall with her gun. Jack nodded and began firing wildly at the Bringers. Buffy seized the opportunity to charge them head on. The combination of covering fire and Slayer speed allowed Buffy to be on top of the Bringers before they had a chance to react.

The melee was brutal and short. Buffy was in a hurry and spared no time for niceties. Instead she focused of destroying the Bringers as quickly as she could. Jack watched in amazement as Buffy slammed a Bringer's head into a wall with such force that it caved in.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Buffy asked as she snapped the neck of the last Bringer. "An invitation?"

"The Slayer right," Jack muttered to himself as he ran after Buffy.

"Pretty cool huh?" Willow asked.

"That's one way to describe it," Jack said.

They continued down the hall until it opened into a large chamber. Dead Bringers littered the floor. Buffy's attention however was drawn to the middle of the room where Sydney lay unconscious. Standing next to her was a Bringer holding an outstretched knife over Sydney's chest.

Jack aimed his rifle at the Bringer and fired a three-round burst. The .223 caliber rounds slammed into the Bringer's chest, knocking it back. The knife slipped out of the dying Bringer's hands and fell to the ground, slicing a large gash in Sydney's arm in the process.

Suddenly the temple began to shake and the alter began to glow red. "Uh-oh, this can't be good," Buffy commented.

"Nice try Slayer, but you're too late, the demon is summoned," The First said appearing next to Buffy. It had once again assumed the shape of Angel. "I can't wait to see it devour you."

"Buffy!" Willow shouted. "The demon is trying to possess Sydney!"

Buffy stared at Sydney who was now suspended in a pillar of red light. "Didn't anyone ever tell you that you shouldn't count your demons until they're summoned?" She asked the First before running towards Sydney. "I sure hope this works," she thought before leaping into the beam of light.

Buffy crashed into Sydney, knocking her out of the light. As Buffy passed through the pillar she was almost overwhelmed with feelings of anger and death. Buffy hit the ground and rolled to a stop. She looked back at the alter and saw the beam of red light coalesce into the phantom shape of a fearsome looking demon. The red ghost bellowed silently before fading away.

"No!" The First shouted. "That's impossible, once the process starts it can't be stopped."

"That is where you were wrong," Mr. Gupta said. Everyone turned and watched as the old man floated to the ground with a bloodied Vaughn clinging to his side. "Miss Rosenberg, would you please look after Mr. Vaughn, a Bringer attacked him while he was defending Miss Bristow."

"You," the First hissed. "What are you doing here?"

"Please, please, one question at a time," Mr. Gupta replied. "First of all, how was Miss Summers able to break the barrier surrounding the containment spell? You of all things should know that a Slayer exists in both the astral and physical planes. Any being with such a dual nature can pass through the barrier and disrupt the spell. As for why I am here I should think that would be obvious, to stop you of course."

"But you can't, the agreement, you cannot interfere."

"You tried to raise Rakshi, of course I can interfere!" Mr. Gupta said sharply. "Just be glad that Shiva did not come in my place."

"No, I can't be beaten, not like this!" the First shouted. It morphed from Angel's form into a large demon.

Mr. Gupta held out his hand. "That is quite enough. Nobody likes a sore loser." Mr. Gupta then waved his hand and the First dissolved into the floor.

"Did you kill it?" Buffy asked.

"Dear girl, you should know that you cannot kill the First. I merely dispersed its essence. It will be some time until it can again take form."

"You're not a simple fakir are you," Willow said.

Mr. Gupta chuckled. "No, I am not. Let us take a look at Miss Bristow shall we?"

Jack and Vaughn were already standing over Sydney who was still unconscious. "Her pulse is fain, but steady," Jack said. "Other than that I don't see anything wrong, we'd better get her to the medical ship, she might have a concussion."

"Your daughter was exposed to pure evil, and that leaves a mark." Mr. Gupta told Jack. "Buffy, you passed through that field, you felt it, correct?"

Buffy shivered, "It felt like death."

"So what can we do about it?" Jack demanded.

"Have no fear, you have not come this far for naught." Mr. Gupta knelt down next to Sydney and placed his hand on her forehead. "Come back to us dear one, your friends and family still need you." Sydney's body began to glow gold.

When the glow subsided Sydney's eyes shot open and she drew in a ragged breath. "Where am I?" She gasped. "Dad, Michael, Buffy?"

"It's ok Sydney," Jack said, "You're safe now."

"What happened? Mr. Sanjay!" she exclaimed.

"Who?" Vaughn asked.

"He was this nice old man they were also holding prisoner...I know he's dead but..."

"Relax Miss Bristow, there are some elements of your story that cannot yet be learned," Mr. Gupta said in a more authoritative voice than the others were use to hearing. "Rajiv Sanjay was a loyal servant of mine, his sacrifice will not go unnoticed."

"Ok, that's it, just who the hell are you?" Buffy demanded.

"I go by many names, but the one I am best known as is Vishnu."

"No way!" Willow exclaimed.

"Yes way."

"Want to fill me in here Will?" Buffy asked her friend.

"Vishnu is one of the three big gods of Hinduism. He's the god of balance and justice."

"So let me get this straight; you're one of those guys with all the arms and the funky poses?"

Mr. Gupta laughed, "Yes, that is how my followers often perceive me. But to answer your next question right now I have assumed the guise of a humble fakir. It was necessary to complete my mission."

"And what mission might that be?" Jack asked after he tore his attention away from Sydney.

"The same as yours Mr. Bristow, to rescue your daughter and thwart the First."

"I still don't buy it. You're a god?" Buffy asked in disbelief.

"You believe in vampires and demons, but you cannot accept the existence of a god?" Mr. Gupta asked, a gentle smile spread across his face.

"It's just...I don't know..." Buffy trailed off.

"So if you exist then the rest of the Hindi pantheon is real as well," Willow mused, "And if the Hindu gods are real...that must mean the other gods also...whoa, I think I just blew my mind metaphysically."

"Relax Miss Rosenberg. Most of what you know of the Hindu gods is real, but quite a bit is also fantasized. The old gods, myself, Zeus, Odin, Quetzalcotl, and the others are simply benevolent versions of what you might call demons. We decided long ago to watch over humanity and when we could protect it."

"Why would you do that?"

"That is a question I cannot answer other than to say that your species is capable of greatness and in the future that greatness will be required."

"But what about...you know..." Willow pointed up at the sky.

"The answer to the riddle of your monotheism is one that I do not have," Mr. Gupta replied. "All I can say is that there is a design to the universe. What that design might be is beyond even my comprehension, but it is there."

"Cook County, this is Paramedic, we have the patient, send in the Ambulance," Jack said into his radio. "Mr. Gupta, Vishnu, whatever, you probably won't want to be here when the Special Forces team arrives. I don't even begin to know how to write this mission up as it is."

"If you really are a god then why don't you do more to keep people safe?" Buffy demanded.

"Humanity can never grow if they know they can just fall back on a group of deities. I cannot interfere with the normal course of human events...much."

"And you got involved here because the First is not a normal event," Willow surmised.

"Precisely, the First is a being like I am, the only difference is that the First seeks to destroy everything. I got involved this time because the First tried to take advantage of one of our mistakes. We never should have let this temple stand. After you leave I shall raze the temple."

"What about the demon?" Willow asked.

"It's spirit was destroyed when Buffy disrupted the spell. It can do no more harm."

"Go me," Buffy happily said.

Jack helped Sydney to her feet. "The extraction team is on their way. We should head to the LZ. Buffy could you give Vaughn a hand?"

Buffy nodded and picked up the injured agent. "Hey, thanks for everything, making the First go poof, waking up Sydney, and just general godliness."

"You're most welcome, it was a pleasure and an honor to finally meet you Buffy. Do you now think I am qualified enough to call you the greatest Slayer?"

Buffy smiled, "Oh yeah."

"Good then remember what I said, and above all keep breaking the rules."

"You don't think you could maybe give me a little hint as to what the First is up to in Sunnydale?" Buffy asked.

Mr. Gupta shook his head, "I am sorry Buffy, but that truly is your fight and I cannot interfere...but I can tell you this. You are the last Slayer, and there is nothing to fear about that fact. Take heart, the First can be defeated. It is all up to you."

"No pressure huh?" Buffy said with a rueful smile.

Mr. Gupta reached out and touched Buffy's forehead. "You have my blessing for whatever good it does. Farewell Buffy Summers."

Buffy watched as Mr. Gupta stepped back and started to glow with a golden light. The body of the old man Buffy knew dissolved into the golden glow which began to expand outward.

"I think it's time to leave," Willow said as they edged away from the light.

Jack and Sydney went first followed by Willow then Buffy and Vaughn. While they walked Buffy saw cracks beginning to form in the temple walls. "Guys, picking up the pace would be good." Over his objections Buffy picked up Vaughn and started to run. Jack followed suit with Sydney and they sprinted out of the temple. As soon as they were clear of the building it began to shake violently, then fall in on itself. "Never let it be said that a god can't bring the house down," Buffy quipped.

They did not have to wait long before a pair of Blackhawk helicopters flashed overhead. "Paramedic, this is Ambulance One, what's your status?" Jack's radio crackled.

"Ambulance One this is Paramedic. The LZ is cold, condition green, I repeat, condition green," Jack said into his radio.

"Condition green, roger that." The two Blackhawks quickly landed near Jack and the others. A team of Green Berets jumped out from one of the Blackhawks and assumed a defensive perimeter around the helicopters. Another pair of helicopters appeared hovering slightly over the tree line. They slowly moved over the landing zone. One of the Green Berets ran over to where Jack was standing. 

The Green Beret saluted. "Agent Bristow, I'm Lieutenant Young." The lieutenant looked around Jack at the remains of the temple.

"Is something the matter lieutenant?" Jack asked.

"Uh sir, wasn't there supposed to be a temple there?"

"The cultists holding Agent Bristow hostage wired the temple with C4. They blew it up over their heads. Agent Vaughn and I also found these two American college students," Jack indicated Buffy and Willow.

The lieutenant nodded, "Then if you'll just get in the second Blackhawk we can get the hell out of here."

"That's music to my ears lieutenant." Jack lead the group onto the waiting helicopter.

Buffy waited for everyone else go enter before she climbed on board. The crew chief slammed the door shut and showed her where to sit as the helicopter started to take off. Buffy looked out the window at the soldiers getting on board the other helicopter. Her eyes then drifted out into the jungle. She smiled when she caught sight of Mr. Gupta standing in the shadows. She waved slightly before the pilot increased power and the helicopter sped away.

Mr. Gupta waved at the helicopters as they flew off into the horizon. "Best of luck to you Buffy Summers, you shall need it." The god paused for a moment. "Best of luck to all of you actually. May you find the strength to fight back the dark, because this world depends on it." He sighed then dissolved into a golden ball of light that floated away, leaving behind nothing but empty jungle.

-the end- 


	8. Epilogue

God Shuffled His Feet: An Alias/Buffy Crossover  
By: Sam Lincoln

Rating PG-13

Summary: An ancient evil stalks Agent Sydney Bristow

Spoilers: General spoilers for the current seasons of Alias, and Buffy, but nothing specific to any storyline.

Disclaimer: All characters from _Buffy_ and _Angel_ are property of Mutant Enemy. All characters from _Alias_ are property of Bad Robot and Touchstone Television. All characters are used without permission and no infringement is intended.

God Shuffled His Feet: Epilogue

-Sunnydale-  
"...so we come back to the house and that's when we found Giles totally making out with the scary Army lady," Xander said to Buffy and Willow.

"We were not, it was simply a congratulatory gesture for having survived the zombie attack," Giles protested.

"Then why were you hands down..." Anya started to say.

"Anya!" Buffy exclaimed. "There are children present," she motioned to Dawn.

"Yeah, minors even, so dish the dirt," Dawn said.

"Given the events of the past couple days I find it hard to believe there's nothing better to talk about then what may or may not have happened between myself and Colonel Fraser," Giles said stiffly. 

"Uh-oh, we've awoken 'Grumpy Giles,' nobody poke it with sticks," Willow joked.

"I think it's safe to say I've never been in a debriefing quite like this," Sydney observed. She and Vaughn had driven Buffy and Willow back to Sunnydale so they could collect Will.

"I say Will's ready for field service," Vaughn commented.

"Oh no if I needed anymore convincing that I have had more than enough excitement in my then this was it," Will emphatically said.

"Wuss," Anya muttered under her breath.

"You sure cleaned the house up in a hurry," Buffy noted as she looked around the living room which bore signs of frantic construction work.

"Yeah, the colonel loaned us a couple of soldiers to get the work done," Xander said

"The hard part was getting rid of the zombie funk," Anya added. "It took lots of lemon."

"Well you did a good job of it," Willow insisted. "You can't even tell a zombie army rampaged through here."

"Buffy, do you think the First will try to kidnap Sydney again?" Vaughn asked, shifting the conversation to the topic he was most interested in.

Buffy looked thoughtful for a moment. "I don't think so, after all the temple did get destroyed. Giles, you're the man with the knowledge, what do you think?"

Giles adjusted his glasses, "I should say Miss Bristow has more pressing matters to worry about. Just be ever vigilant. The First's motives are clear, but the way it seeks to achieve those goals are less so."

Sydney nodded, "So in addition to worrying about an evil criminal genius I also have the embodiment of all evil gunning for me, great."

Willow nodded, "That's about it, but if the First gives you any trouble you know who to call...Buffy."

Sydney smiled, "Thanks Willow."

"Just next time, include a little gratuity, it gets expensive rebuilding this house after every attack," Anya said. "You're with the government, you have money to burn."

"While money is good, it's also not necessary," Buffy quickly added. "I'll kick the First's ass free of charge any day...that is, if you could physically kick it's ass."

"Hey do you know what this calls for?" Xander rhetorically asked the group.

"A party?" Dawn hopefully replied.

"Not just a party, but a hootenanny," Xander confirmed. "How about it CIA types, up for some unwinding?"

Sydney glanced at Vaughn who nodded. "Sure, just don't expect too much out of us."

"We just expect you to drink a lot and then spill all sorts of juicy secrets," Anya said.

"I'm in," Will said. "Provided you can promise no zombies."

"We can promise no zombies," Buffy told Will, "but I can't say anything about vampires or demons."

Will shrugged, "Good enough for me."

The group all stood up. "Giles, wanna come with?" Willow asked.

"No I think," Giles started to say. "No I've nearly been eaten by zombies twice recently, the only proper thing to do is to celebrate this fact with drinks, and hopefully scourge it out of memory in the process."

"Plus I heard some of the soldiers talking about how they were going to have a shindig there tonight," Dawn informed the rest of the group.

"That has nothing to do with it..."Giles protested as they walked out of the house.

"Uhm, hello?" Andre asked from upstairs, "Could someone get me some toilet paper? We're all out up here."

-Geneva-

A man wearing a priest's outfit walked into a nondescript office building on the outskirts of Geneva. The sign on the door identified the building as being the property of a low key import export firm, but the security measures surrounding the building spoke of a different purpose.

"Can I help you?" A slightly gaunt man with spiky blonde hair and a refined British accent asked the man dressed as a priest.

"Yeah, I'd like to speak with your boss, Mr. Arvin Sloane," The priest asked in a broad southern accent.

"I'm afraid I have no idea who you are talking about," the blonde man said politely

"Oh yes you do Mr. Sark."

Sark reached into his jacket and removed a pistol. "I think you should be leaving now Father."

"Oh no, see I have a divine mission to talk to your boss and you won't stand in my way." Before Sark could react the priest grabbed the gun out of Sark's hand then crushed the barrel. "Now then I'm going to ask again, can I see your boss? And if you say no the next thing I crush will be your neck." Sark nodded and motioned for the priest to follow him. "That's very kind of you sir. And everyone told me that I wouldn't find anyone polite over here."

Sark lead the priest back to Sloane's office and gently knocked on the door. "A visitor to see you Mr. Sloane." Sark announced.

"I wasn't expecting anyone," Sloane pointed out.

"I know, but the gentleman was very persuasive," Sark said. He massaged his still sore neck.

"I see, well have a seat Mr. ?" Sloane asked the priest without batting an eyelash.

"The name's Caleb," the priest said.

"Well Mr. Caleb what can I do for you?"

"It's not what you can do for me, it's what I can do for you Mr. Sloane."

Sloane leaned forward in his chair. "And just what might that be?"

"I thought that would be obvious, power Mr. Sloane. I offer you the sort of power that only the divine can provide. More power than Rambaldi can possibly offer. The power to make all who oppose you burn."

"I take it you're not here as a representative of Holy Mother Church?" Sloane inquired.

"I remain a holy man so I still wear the vestments of my former calling."

"So what do we need to do?"

"Nothing, when the holy spirit needs you it will let you know. Until that time if there's anything or anyone you need dealt with just let me know."

"You do us a favor now and we return the gesture at a later date?"

Caleb nodded, "Precisely."

"What if I refuse?"

"Then you're a non-believer and I will be forced to scourge you with fire to purify your soul."

"In that case let's talk more about your offer."

"Hallelujah, welcome to the flock Brother Sloane," Caleb said.

-Fin-

Author's Notes:

* This is probably my last Alias/Buffy crossover for a while. I have the glimmerings of an idea for a third story, but it needs more work in the development process

* The Hinduism is mostly correct. I did some research into Hindu mythology looking for the appropriate demon, and I hope I was at least somewhat internally consistent in that regards.

* This story is very loosely based off of a famous story, can you guess what it is?

-sam, 8/10/2003 


End file.
